For Sale: One Airport, Low Mileage...
by Brian Gilomen
(Portions excerpted from The Plainfield Sun, 12/26/03 -- Lauren B. Kraft, Staff Writer)
Clow International Airport may be owned by the Village of Bolingbrook in the very near future.
Just before Christmas, the Bolingbrook Village Board gave village attorneys the nod to negotiate the proposed $13.2 million purchase. Officials stressed at the time that the deal was not final, and that the village could decide not to buy the 45-year-old airport and its facilities. Nevertheless, a unanimous vote by the Village Board and strong support by Mayor Roger Claar suggested that the deal would likely go ahead.
Our own Kevin Bertorelli watched this process on local access Cable TV. Kevin reported being amazed that no one at the meeting spoke about the airport being anything other than positive for the community. According to Mayor Claar, he was contacted by many as 75 people about the purchase after he asked for residents' opinions at a November Village Board meeting. Only one expressed negative feelings about the purchase, he said. Those in favor of the purchase mentioned the esteem the airport brings the village and the desire to have the village control development on the land, among other things, Claar said.
Not only was the acquisition vote unanimous, Kevin stated that the Mayor and the Trustees were also unanimous that the 77-acre property remain an airport for the foreseeable future, or "for the next 10, 20 or 30 years," as articulated by the Mayor. It is possible that owner and Naperville businessman Joe De Paulo will stay on as airport manager. The Mayor and Joe De Paulo spoke of improvements that could be made, including adding additional hangars, a wider runway, improvements to the entranceway and additional services to lure more aircraft to Clow. Commerce from an airport was seen as a great asset to the community. The Mayor also mentioned the Wright Redux Flyer, Packard Engineering, and the formation of the flight museum (see separate article in this Newsletter). Federal funds will be available to the village in the case of a purchase. However, Claar said federal grants come with stiff stipulations, so it might be in the village's interest to turn down the money.
A village purchase of Clow is one of the only ways to ensure the airport continues to operate as it does, Claar said. De Paulo has been offered much more money for the property by private developers, and those numbers were getting "awfully tempting," according to De Paulo. Part of the property is zoned residential and the other commercial. The village could decide to later sell off pieces if the airport operations are not successful.
In his "State of the Village" address to an audience of 655 people this past January, Claar reiterated that the village has decided it would rather preserve Clow Airport then let it be sold off for land development. "Liquidating it for more retail and housing, we don't think, would be in the best interests of the village at this time," he said.
A deal could be inked by February or March.
Where to now?:
For Sale: One Airport, Low Miles!