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Cleveland committee hears financial case for closing Burke Lakefront Airport
Summary
City finance and port-control staff told the council committee that Burke Lakefront Airport has run a persistent operating deficit (about $900,000 average over 20+ years; $1.7 million in 2025) and presented redevelopment scenarios showing higher potential direct tax revenue under reuse. Staff said signatory airlines are "not opposed" to closure and the county airport has signaled willingness to absorb operations.
At a Transportation and Mobility Committee hearing, city finance and port‑control officials laid out the operational and budgetary picture for Burke Lakefront Airport and the potential financial implications of closing and redeveloping the 450‑acre site.
Jessica Trevazzano, deputy chief of staff and chief strategy officer for the city, told the committee the presentation was meant to ground future decisions in "a clear fact based understanding of the legal, financial, operational, and market realities associated with Burke Lakefront Airport" and noted the FAA forecasts continued declines in operations through 2050.
Bryant Francis, director of port control, and Christine Gilmartin, assistant director of finance and procurement for port control, said Burke averages about 40,000 aircraft operations per year (peaking in the late 1990s), houses 15 tenants (roughly half non‑aviation), and has limited developable acreage because most of the 450 acres are airfield. "Most of our leases are 1 to 2 year terms," Francis said, and Gilmartin added that parking is the airport’s main revenue stream.
Gilmartin summarized Burke’s budget history:…
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