Airpark demand
 

Hi all,
I know this has been discussed before, but is there any demand for airparks in Oz these days? What if one was located an hours drive from Sydney? Existing airparks are in the stix, poorly maintained, or ridiculously expensive. Would anyone actually choose to live in an airpark in a good location?

Yes quite simple whitsundays aviation village

WAVE
 

How many people actually living there now? Loveley place but only 4-5 completed homes and dozens of empty lots last time I visited.

Schofields, Wollongong, and even the pre flattened land at Bankstown would be prime candidates for additional airpark development.
Schofields will soon be housing anyway, but the old runways still exist, why not have the best of both worlds.. but that would require a council with vision. sadly something lacking in Australia.

Don't like your chances in the Sydney basin... Although maybe oaks? Though that's not really a GOOD location... North? South? 1 hour can get you to Cooranbong if you can avoid the coppers at stealth, south maybe Kiama? There's a bit of money down south ex Eastern Suburbs refugees ....

Anyway, it's your first post under this alias so cough up, what d'ya know?

Sc

I'd be intrested if it was in Sydney or the South Coast.

Probably couldn't afford the landing and parking fees to get to work though...;)

The Whitsundays one is rather pricey, which probably limits appeal.

The Temora air park seems to be going quite well; not bad for a small country town.

I'd love to see one created here at Gawler. If the housing block prices would be the same as the average in the area, I reckon it would sell like hot cakes.

YSEN is doing very well,private airpark

Belmont (Aeropelican) would be a fantastic location - if it was going to operate again (what are the chances of that? :ugh:), plenty of room for houses and great spot right next to the lake and close to beach.

Mount Beauty Airpark. Its probably not a good example for being close to major cities, but a lovely place - close to the alps for the snow season, if you dont mind the cold. Still in the approval stages I think.

mountbeautyairpark.com.au for those interested

Wedderburn is close to Sydney and seems to be a bit like an air park. Lots of flash hangars with nice balconies etc,. shared taxi and roadways. Beaut runway complex. Although noone is allowed to actually reside there.
NSW Sport Aircraft Club - Wedderburn

Maybe the reference is to Wanervale Aerodrome (YWVA). The ground-lease is until 2020 (or 21?), perhaps Mirvac have seen the light?

Moruya. Great bit of coastline. Good atmosphere around the airport. I believe an airpark is in the Eurobodalla Shire Council's projected plans. The area has a lot going for it. I don't have any vested interest and am actually in Queensland but probably not for much longer.

Hoxton Park would have made a great airpark. Still would, last time I drove past nothing had been built there.

One is being launched at Rylstone Aerodrome, near Mudgee too. See Rylstone Aerodrome | Australia's Premier Airpark and Avaition Community for more info.

Every airpark I've researched won't tell you how much. You have to enquire! Then after the bull$hit you find you can't afford a Council inspired con in a place with no work or financial interest. Mt Beauty is not finalised, (you are buying off the plan), Narromine and Temora have price problems for bank loans and the best option, in my opinion, is to find somewhere you like then ask to lease some land adjacent. You won't need sewerage, power, or garbage service, and, from what I'm told, there are environmental incentives to live like a "hippy". I don't mind that.

I do like Rylestone, I got married there and I was stung by a hornet at Grattai where my folks lived when I was 5 years old. (funny how you remember things like that, oh! and polo balls.

Someone may like to PM me and sell me a block away from the "blockies"?

Hoxton Park is long gone, within hours of the last aircraft leaving, the runway was destroyed. Absolute disgrace, now all those residents against the airport now have a nice quiet truck depot, the biggest depot in the Sydney basin, operating 24 hrs a day, with thousands of trucks coming and going, that has replaced it.

Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane could all do with an airpark.

Melbourne needs one in the East or SE, Sydney in the North and Brisbane could do with one in the South or SW. Problem is of course distance and councils.

Everybody wants to be close to the city but the land is expensive and residents disapproving. Cheaper land further out is usually afflicted by transportation difficulties and lack of nearby amenities. Getting something approved as an airport takes the worlds most doggedly determined individual - councils seem to view the term as being akin to nuclear reactor and toxic waste dump.

But it can be done - either from scratch or at an existing airfield.

From Scratch: Buy some rural land as close as possible to railway lines and freeways etc and continue to run it as a farm etc but put up a couple of 'sheds'. The sheds house an aircraft or two or three. Orient landing strips away fro neighbors houses and don't do circuits there. After some time gradually formalize the nature of the property legally and eventually slip in the term airpark or even 'airstrip' or landing field. This is ideal for areas between Beaudesert and Brisbane, say Leppington SW of Sydney and fill-in areas such as the west or east of Cranbourne SE of Melbourne. This is a long process though. Slightly further away however this is already being done. Lethbridge west of Melbourne I believe already has expansion approval and it would be relatively easy to do the same on private land at say Lilydale or Coldstream as there is a big residential component nearby anyhow.

Existing Airfield: This has to be the way to go. Airports like Point Cook, Avalon lend themselves to such concepts. Even (at a stretch) the eastern side of Essendon Airport has a ton of vacant land off Lebanon St and Arvon Rd that would be perfect (ah, the serenity) if Mr Fox could be so persuaded. Other airfields like Parafield and Caboolture also have vacant perimeters that would be suitable, just takes a bit of persuasion and political savvy. This is far and away the easier option as the infrastructure is already in place and the airports are closer to transportation links and the amenity of the big cities.

And every time silly Kelvin Thompson opens his mouth complaining on behalf of neighbors about airport noise you can say that you are a neighbor and very much in favor of the noise!

Wouldn't mind having a crack at this myself!

The city GA airports are too interested in developing shopping malls and industrial estates to bother about on-site airpark residential use. They would quietly hope that GA would disappear of the face of the earth and convert what's not been resumed to residential, in which case they would make 10-20 times what they invested.

As far as Parafield is concerned, a huge tract of land in the triangle of Rwy 03 and 08 has been rezoned as Commercial/Industrial that on current valuations would, on land sales alone, net the owners 30-40M after subdivision costs. This all came about following the resumption of land at the S boundary for the new road.

It's also rumored that Lindsay Fox made a killing out of the land acquired for the Freeway upgrade, and anyone who's been to YMEN lately will see just how much the landside development has accelerated, and none of it is airpark.

Essendon is a prime example of how well integrated commercial development can rejuvenate an otherwise lackluster airport. It looks fantastic now and puts crappy Tullamarine to shame. Provided the non-aviation development doesn't squeeze out financially tenuous aircraft operations then I don't have a problem with it.

If some residential component could be included on the periphery of underutilized areas of any airport in Australia the that would be a great thing.

The northern part of Point Cook is a great example; currently vacant and rapidly being engulfed by advancing residential development. How about having some of those residences abutting the airfield with hangars etc. Close to town and good sealed runways/facilities etc.