St. John Properties filed an application that is scheduled to be heard next week by the Prince George’s County Planning Board to build 509 residential units on the site of the Freeway Airport in Bowie.
The 132-acre airport property sits at the intersection of Route 50 and Church Road, roughly 11 miles outside of D.C. The airport has been owned by the Rodenhauser family since 1947, and it currently operates as a flight school and maintenance facility.
The business has faced financial difficulties for the last two decades, since flight regulations were changed after 9/11, Kim Rodenhauser said at a Prince George’s County Council hearing in September 2019. Because of these financial issues, she said the family is looking to close the airport and redevelop the property. She read a letter to the council from her father, Stan Rodenhauser, who died in July 2019.
Days after the council hearing, a small plane that took off from the airport crashed onto Route 50 and struck a car. No one was seriously injured, but the incident heightened the controversy around the airport’s continued operation, WTOP reported. A representative for the airport declined to give her name or a comment when reached by phone Thursday morning.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Jon Banister over at Bis Now
