As a showdown on the future of Hartford-Brainard Airport looms in the legislature, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam isn’t showing his cards just yet, and last year’s consultant’s report didn’t go far enough in helping him take a position on the issue. A consultant’s $1.5 million study late last year concluded that the 200-acre airfield in Hartford’s South End could be used for industrial or mixed-use redevelopment. But it could cost tens of millions to rid the airport of contamination and take years to decommission it before fully reaping property tax and economic development potential, according to the report. A hearing on the study is expected — but not yet scheduled — in the legislature. State lawmakers then would have to decide whether the century-old Brainard should be closed. In Hartford, the debate over Brainard also comes as the state examines what should be done with an adjoining 80 acres that will become available with the decommissioning of Hartford’s trash-to-energy plant.
A showdown on a CT airport redevelopment plan looms. Mayor has ‘real serious questions’ on viability