Express-Times File Photo | KEN WHITE
A pilot lands his 2003 Rands 57 at Braden Airpark in Forks Township. Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, which owns Braden Airpark, is considering selling multiple properties including Braden as a means to pay heavy legal debt.
Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority has approved an agreement with a master developer that will explore putting about 800 acres for sale, including Braden Airpark, in order to raise money and pay massive legal debts.
The authority, which runs Lehigh Valley International Airport, agreed today to hire New York-based real estate company The Rockefeller Group to help with strategy.
Airport officials stressed this is a multi-step plan that will consider many options with no predetermined outcomes.
“It’s very early in the process,” LNAA executive director Charles Everett said. “No decisions have been made in terms of any disposition.”
Land under review includes most property the authority owns except Queen City Airport in Allentown and LVIA facilities in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
The remaining properties include about 600 undeveloped acres once targeted for homes near LVIA, plus Braden Airpark in Forks Township and other ancillary tracts.
A $16 million legal settlement the authority owes to developers by 2015 is driving its need to raise cash.
The backloaded settlement — most money is due in 2014 and 2015 — is required to compensate builders for the authority’s court-ordered condemnation of land in the 1990s that scuttled a housing proposal near LVIA known as Willow Brook Farms, or WBF.
While the authority mulls its options, backers of Braden Airpark and general aviation enthusiasts warned against selling the 80-acre Forks property off Sullivan Trail.
Vern Moyer, owner of Moyer Aviation Inc., which leases the airpark from the authority, said there is a “false impression that the airport is just sitting there.” Moyer noted that Braden employs 20 people, trains pilots, and provides charter flights to destinations including Florida.
“We are a business,” Moyer said. “We provide services to the general public. We pay taxes.”
Erik Chuss, chairman of Forks supervisors, urged the authority to consult with township officials whatever it does.
“We are a stakeholder in this,” Chuss said. “The township does view Braden Airpark as an asset in our long-term master plan.”
LNAA chairman Tony Iannelli said recent media reports should not give impression that sale of any property is imminent.
“The fact that there was an article in the paper just means there was an article in the paper,” Iannelli said. “It doesn’t make it any higher or lower on our radar. We know we can’t work in a vacuum. Everyone will have a voice in this.”
Authority members had discussed selling Queen City Airport, a 210-acre facility just north of Interstate 78, but decided against that route months ago. Officials feared that too many obstacles, including a federal requirement that any sale include finding a replacement airport, made it impractical.
The agreement with Rockefeller Group authorizes the Manhattan firm to assess properties under review and provide a master plan to the authority within 45 days from Oct. 1.
If both sides agree, Rockefeller can then submit what properties it is interested in acquiring, leasing, or pursuing a joint venture with the authority. It can also decline to pursue properties, which would return responsibility to the authority.
The entire process can take many months. Everett said the ultimate timetable is the three-year window that the authority has to pay its $16 million legal debt.
The vote to hire Rockefeller was 11-1 with Mayor Ed Pawlowski dissenting. Pawlowski objected to several provisions including providing Rockefeller an exclusive advantage on buying the properties plus options to opt out.
“We need more certainty,” Pawlowski said.
Source: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com
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