DHL Donates Largest Private Airport in U.S. to Local Government Authorities

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(WILMINGTON, OH) -- The City of Wilmington and the Clinton County Port Authority received a nice new present today, the largest private airport in the country.

DHL, an international package carrier, today donated the 1,500 acre air park facility to the City of Wilmington and Clinton County in a press conference held Tuesday morning at Wilmington College. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Clinton County Commissioner Randy Riley and Wilmington Mayor David Raizk were in attendance.

The DHL Air Park in Wilmington was, until May 28, 2008, the largest single employer in a six-county region in southwestern Ohio. After closure of its operations there, DHL has worked with community leaders, particularly the Clinton County Port Authority, on a strategy for revitalizing this important regional asset.

Real Estate Channel first reported on the closure of the DHL Air Park in November 2008 (See related article). The result was the loss of over 8200 local jobs. DHL ended all domestic package services and moved its international operations to Greater Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport.

The DHL Air Park closure was so economically significant, even CBS 60-Minutes featured it on-air last January (2009) on their prime-time Sunday night television broadcast.

Not everyone agrees that this is the best outcome for this massive real estate asset.

Carl Quesinberry, a local real estate consultant stated, "Today's transfer of the DHL Air Park in Wilmington, Ohio to the Clinton County Port Authority (CCPA) provides for more questions than answers. With the transfer of the AirPark, no longer is the property on the tax rolls for revenue collection purposes. Those revenues along with employment taxes assist in the funding of the local school systems. The CCPA's main challenge will be the proverbial picking of any low-hanging fruit to spur economic development activity while balancing against compromising the long term value of the Air Park though implementing a strategic marketing plan."

The port authority does plan to hire a 3rd-party property firm to look at various options to redevelop the air park.

According to other local sources, several businesses have expressed an interest in locating at the air park, but no transactions have been finalized.

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