New Owner Says The Airfield Will Remain Open For The Foreseeable Future

A real estate developer has reportedly purchased the Stroudsburg-Pocono Airport (N53), but the new owner says that the airfield will remain open "for the foreseeable future."

The Morning Call newspaper reports that while both the buyer and the seller were unwilling to disclose the purchase price, Monroe County tax records show that the $1.4 million deal closed on September 1 for the 106-acre parcel.

The new owner is Troy Nauman, the owner of Nauman Contracting in East Stroudsburg, PA. He told the Morning Call that he views the purchase as "just another investment property. There’s a lot of commercial buildings on the site. It’s industrial land with sewer hookup — it makes sense for me going forward.”

Nauman is also an instrument-rated pilot.

Nauman reportedly plans to renovate some of the buildings on the property, but the airport will stay open. FAA records indicate that the airport was first opened in 1948, making it one of the oldest airports in Pennsylvania. A large portion of the property is zoned for commercial use, and many of the buildings are leased to non-aviation tenants. One of the remaining aviation businesses located at the airport is a skydiving operation.

There are 24 airplanes based at K53, according to the report, and the airport sees about 115 operations per week. The total economic impact on the region is about $14 million, according to the PA DOT.

Nauman told the paper that even though he owns a plane and likes to fly it, that's not why he bought an airport. "It's a really nice industrial property," he said.

And while he is under no obligation to keep the airport open, he told the paper "at this point I don't see any reason why we should close it."

FMI: Original Report