The future of Hartford-Brainard Airport was the subject of intense debate Thursday night — with Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin speaking up to make the case for transforming the site into something more valuable to the city. Experts hired by consultant BJF Planning outlined the economic and environmental factors affecting the marketability of the airport property, perched on dozens of feet of sand, gravy and silt deposited by the river and glaciers over the years and bordered by a water-treatment plant and a shuttered trash-burning plant. Presented were three scenarios: Keeping the airport open, closing one runway and redeveloping part of the site, or closing the airport down for a complete revamp of the property. The study under discussion Thursday night was commissioned by the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) after the state legislature passed a measure last year seeking “to assess the benefits and opportunity costs to Hartford and the state of the current and alternative uses of the Hartford Brainard Airport property.” DECD plans to submit the study’s findings by Oct. 15, 2023, to the legislature’s finance, revenue and bonding committee.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/hartford-brainard-airport-alternatives-debated-18196942.php