Cleveland lakefront nonprofit opens public survey seeking ideas for redeveloping Burke Lakefront Airport site

Public input campaign begins as officials weigh airport closure and lakefront redevelopment

A Cleveland nonprofit leading planning for the city’s downtown lakefront has opened a public idea-gathering effort focused on the future of Burke Lakefront Airport, a city-owned general aviation facility on Lake Erie. The effort invites residents to submit suggestions and priorities for how the site could be used if the airport were repurposed.

The initiative centers on an online survey expected to remain open for roughly three to four months, alongside in-person outreach at community events and neighborhood meetings. The questionnaire asks respondents to weigh potential amenities and land uses, including recreation and sports facilities, trails, urban agriculture, housing, and entertainment concepts such as an outdoor movie venue and a Ferris wheel.

What is at stake: a large, constrained lakefront parcel

Burke occupies about 450 acres on the city’s near-downtown shoreline. The airport’s footprint sits next to additional lakefront infrastructure, including federal dredged-material containment areas used for sediment removed from navigation channels. City-commissioned studies released in 2024 examined the requirements and implications of closing the airport as well as the economic and fiscal effects of redevelopment, but Cleveland has not made a final decision to shut the facility.

Any closure would require navigating federal aviation rules and long-standing grant obligations that can bind airports to remain in operation for decades after accepting federal funding. In late 2025, city and county leaders asked federal officials to release Cleveland from certain obligations tied to past grants, a step that opponents argue is premature without a fully defined alternative that protects regional aviation needs.

Competing arguments: connectivity versus aviation capacity

Supporters of repurposing Burke argue the site represents one of the largest remaining opportunities to expand public access to the waterfront and to create space for new housing, parks, and mixed-use development close to downtown. The survey notes a longstanding access challenge along the shoreline, where large stretches are not easily reachable as public space.

Opponents, including aviation organizations and some airport users, contend Burke provides operational value within the region’s aviation network and supports specialized uses such as medical flights, flight training, and visiting corporate traffic. They have pressed for more detailed analysis of alternatives, including how operations would shift to other airports and what investments would be required to accommodate displaced activity.

Public process and upcoming decision points

Cleveland City Council has begun a series of public hearings to examine the practicality of a closure and the market realities of redeveloping the lakefront parcel. Additional hearings are scheduled for April 1 on regulatory pathways and April 15 on real estate considerations and redevelopment feasibility.

Community feedback collected through the nonprofit’s survey and outreach is expected to inform the city’s ongoing evaluation of options for Burke’s future.

• Survey window: approximately 90–120 days, with additional community outreach planned
• Key policy hurdle: federal obligations and the formal process required to decommission an airport
• Next milestones: City Council hearings on April 1 and April 15

The idea-gathering effort unfolds as Cleveland advances broader downtown lakefront initiatives, including temporary public programming and longer-term plans to improve connections between the central business district and the shoreline.