Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The importance of zoning around airports - Delhi Airport Runway

The new 4,430m (14,600ft) Delhi airport runway of which only 2820m (9,200ft) can be used when air traffic is in west flow (RW29) because of a 50ft tall religious statue. When traffic is in east flow (RW11), almost the whole length can be used. You can see the displaced thresholds on Google Earth.

Newsclip covering the story and showing the statue in question. (click here)

This case illustrates the importance of zoning and height control around an airport and ensuring compatible land use.

That said, New Delhi Airport has made great strides after privatization. The runway was completed in about 2 years after the GMR-led consortium took over as the private operator in Aug 2006. In 2010, new Delhi Airport won most improved airport in the ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards.


Portland Airport (PDX) parking garage and HQ building



Portland International Airport (in Oregon, USA) is operated by the Port of Portland which also operates a seaport. They recently completed a building that consists of a parking garage and a new Headquarters for the Port of Portland. The parking garage has opened and the Port will be moving into the new HQ in May. The information below is taken from an article by 'Oregonlive'. (click here for full article)

Parking garage
-----------------
$156 million
7 storey parking garage
3,500 parking spaces
500 rental car spaces

HQ Building
-------------
$85 million
200,000 sqft office space
10,000 sqft ecoroof

I was very impressed by the pictures and visualization videos by the architects ZGF. The pictures on this post are from their website. There is a lot of information there about the 'green' features of the building.


There are visualization videos under the “On the boards” link
Then choose Port of Portland Headquarters, then click on the bar next to watch.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Munich-Riem Airport Redevelopment


This is another example of airport redevelopment to a non-aviation use. Munich-Riem Airport closed in 1992 and operations were transferred to Munich "Franz Josef Strauss" Airport.

The former airport was transformed into Messestadt Riem (Convention City Riem). It consists of a convention center, apartments and parks. The first picture is of Munich-Riem Airport and the second is of the same site after redevelopment.

Click here for plans and pictures (Note: the website is in German)

Denver Stapleton and Austin Mueller Airport Redevelopment

As cities grow, the airports also need to expand to cater to the increased air traffic. In some cases, the airports are expanded at the current site. In others, a new location is picked to built a larger airport. For some cities, the original airport is retained for aviation use while others redevelop the land for other purposes.

Two recent examples of airports being redeveloped are:
1995 - Denver Stapleton Airport closed and operations transferred to Denver International Airport.
1999 - Austin Mueller Airport closed and operations transferred to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.


Denver Stapleton
------------------
- 4700 acre site
- Developer: Forest City Enterprises
- work started in 2001, 15 year plan
- The Stapleton Development Plan calls for the development of 17 million square feet of new commercial space and up to 10,000 units of housing. At the same time, more than one third of the property would be preserved as 1,700 acres of parks and open space.
- In 2008, the Denver Business reported that there are "3,200 single-family houses, rowhomes, condominiums and other for-sale housing as well as 400 apartments. Residential amenities range from schools — including the innovative Denver School of Science & Technology charter school, which is adding space for grades six through eight — day care, swimming pools, parks, green space and a wildlife habitat. A fourth swimming pool is planned, and the developer hopes to build a public library and golf course. Commercial real estate already built includes the 740,000-square-foot Quebec Square and 1.2 million-square-foot Northfield Stapleton outdoor shopping centers; the multiple-block East 29th Street Town Center with shops, offices and restaurants; and roughly 200,000 square feet of office space." (Denver Business Journal, 2008)

To read more, check out these links:
http://www.stapletoncorp.com/
http://discover.stapletondenver.com/


Austin Mueller
----------------
- 711 acre site
- Developer - Catellus Development Group (Agreement with the City of Austin, click here)
- The Robert Mueller Municipal Airport Redevelopment Plan calls for over 4,000 new dwellings including small lot single-family homes, townhouses, live-work lofts, apartments and condominiums, 300,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment uses distributed throughout the community with a particular concentration in the Town Center area, Up to five million square feet of commercial office space in the Town Center and in a mixed-use employment center at IH-35 and East 51st Street.
- agreement concluded in 2004, 20 year plan
- From the Mueller Austin website, the master plan calls for "4,600 single-family, condo or apartment homes (at least 25 percent reserved for families who qualify for affordable housing), More than 140 acres of parks and perimeter greenways, A town center with cafes, shops, plazas and live/work spaces planned to include at least 30 percent locally-owned businesses, 5 miles of new hike and bike paths."
- In 2009, the Austin Business Journal reported the following developments completed. "Anchoring the 711-acre complex — which used to be Austin’s airport — is a medical center. The regional retail area is currently open for business with 30-40 stores, with such staples as Bed Bath & Beyond and The Home Depot. Right now, 400 single-family homes are occupied. In March, the first apartment residents will move in. By May, 3,000 people will work at the complex. The University of Texas has just completed a 150,000-square-foot building that will become part of an 800,000-square-foot complex."

To read more, check out these links:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/mueller/
http://www.muelleraustin.com/
Community Impact Article Jul 10, 2009
Mueller Realtor blog

You can also see the work in progress on Google Earth. The remnants of the runways for both Austin Mueller and Denver Stapleton can still be seen.
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