SPECIAL REPORT: SUSTAINABILITY W
hile Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver and Auckland have geographic and topographic differences, all three gateways share the commonality of having valuable land resources that are in various phases of
compelling commercialisation. Indeed, the two US gateways are among the biggest in the world in
terms of landmass – Denver’s 53 square mile site is nearly twice the size of Manhattan – and arguably have two of the most innovative commercial land use programmes on the planet. And with the respective support their local cities, municipalities
and tribes, these three airports are doing their utmost to boost their non-aeronautical revenues that will help ensure their long-term sustainability. Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) vice president for commercial development,
John Terrell, said the airport has identified more than 6,000 acres of its 18,000 acres property for development through a series of long-term planning processes and procedures. “We don’t just colour a map and say this is where we want land
to be developed,” laughs Terrell, noting that the airport conducts market studies using outside consultants to help DFW determine the best types of development in each location. “We not only look at physical features of the property, but we look at accessibility and visibility to the market.” As the airport is nine miles long and seven miles wide, DFW falls
within various real estate markets. “Some markets are a little hotter than others, and some have
higher potential for certain types of development, so we take a look at it parcel by parcel and we have actually developed the area into development districts that have different characteristics. With the
says. “We make a strong point of going to each city’s planning department, city staff and their councils so that they have a good idea of what our plans are and we are getting feedback from them so we work in concert. We have a lot of close communications and we do work well together.” Thus far, Terrell says growth and development has been
widespread. From 2001 to 2009, there has been a significant development in International Commerce Park, the nearly 400-acre park covering three of DFW’s host cities: Irving, Coppell, and Grapevine. Terrell says that the bulk of DFW’s development has transacted in
this area simply because it was pre-determined to be the focus of development efforts, and considerable sums were spent developing the site’s infrastructure, utilities and streets. Looking ahead, Terrell reveals that the airport has proposals to the
far reaches of each side of the airport. Growth potential to the north exists in Grapevine, where a 1,100-acre tract lends itself to some nice high-end development with pre-existing neighbours to include the Gaylord Texan Resort and Conference Center, the Great Wolf Lodge, Bass Pro Shops, a shopping mall, and other hospitality. On the east side, development of the 14-mile Orange Line of the
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) regional rail service is scheduled to enter airport property, and DFW is looking for a transport oriented mixed-use development rail station on the airport. On the south side, the City of Irving is interested in partnering with DFW on a 600-acre tract called Passport Park fronting Highway 183. And while DFW is nearly out of land on the west side’s properties
with airside access – the West Air Cargo Complex – Terrell surmises that the future of logistics and cargo development will continue on the east side.
We don’t just colour a map and say this is where we want land to be developed. We not only look at physical features of the property, but we look at accessibility and visibility to the market
market studies, that tells us how we can break that down, what the demand is for certain types of products in each location, and that gives us a general direction.” Terrell reveals that the airport has also explored a 500-foot width
boundary area around the perimeter of the airport to learn about the current land use planning and zoning categories of the adjacent cities of Grapevine, Coppell, Irving, Euless and Fort Worth. He insists that communication is key, and has met with all five cities that border airport property within the past four months. “We want our planning to be in concert with each city’s vision so that we’re not building something that would be in conflict,” Terrell
“We have a fairly small staff for the amount of possibilities that we
have,” he comments, noting DFW has a staff of 15, of which only half are management level and above. “While we have a lot of experience in land planning, we do lean on outside consulting.” Meanwhile in Denver, the airport’s acting manager for revenue and
business development, John Ackerman, reveals that the gateway recently completed a Request for Proposal process to retain a firm specialising in long-term commercial development. And he believes that as the relatively new kid on the block –
Denver International Airport opened in 1995 – the gateway can learn a lot from the land commercialisation efforts of DFW
AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 33
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