The City of Cleveland wanted to study the economic and fiscal impacts of closing the Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL) and redeveloping the land it formerly occupied. ESI, working with the Riddle Company and Robert P. Madison International, conducted economic and fiscal impacts studies and found that closing the airport would not cause substantial negative economic impacts and that certain development scenarios would exceed the economic impact of keeping the airport open.
ESI used industry-standard IMPLAN modeling software to calculate direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts for the various scenarios presented. IMPLAN software also calculates full-time employment equivalents (FTE). The fiscal impact analysis approach involved looking at tax rates and sources for different activities that could occur on the site, such as income, parking, hotel stays, and commercial property taxes.
When looking at the potential development, ESI found that a hybrid or maximum development scenario would produce a greater impact and more FTEs than maintaining the status. ESI found that currently BKL hosts $76.6 million of direct economic activity, but in the event of closure, most of it could transfer, with $45.1 million staying in the City of Cleveland and $67.0 million staying in the county. Thus, only minimal amounts relative to the city’s economy would be lost.
The City of Cleveland can take these results and use them as justification for closing the airport, and as a starting point for developing the site. As mentioned in the deliverable, there are certain environmental factors that may constrain the types of development, but this report only covers economic impacts.