The owner of the Flying W Airport in Medford was officially designated by Township Council on Tuesday night as the redeveloper of the property.
Under the plan — the development details would still require Township approvals — the Fostertown Road airport would shut down and 290 age-restricted housing units and 90 rent-affordable family units would be constructed. The 90 units help the Township to fulfill its court-ordered affordable housing commitment.
Fostertown Road LLC was named in the Council resolution as the redeveloper of the property. Flying W owners Lowell P. Cave and Dawn Cave filed to form the LLC on August 8, 2021, according to the LLC Certificate of Formation from the state Treasury Department. It lists the same address, 60 Fostertown Road, as the airport.
When the Caves bought the struggling, then-32-year-old Flying W in 1996, they restored the facility, making the on-site motel, restaurant and airplane-shaped swimming pool a destination both for local flyers as well as visiting pilots. Pilots who house their planes at the Flying W have expressed dismay over the airport's eventual closing.
Besides the 90 affordable apartments, the housing development would include 109 townhomes and 181 single-family homes. The townhomes and single-family homes would be restricted to owners 55 and older.
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Flying W Airport development timeline
SOURCE: Medford Township Council Resolution No. 48-2022 | Adopted February 1, 2022
| DATE | ACTION |
|---|---|
| January 17, 2017 | Township Council authorizes Planning Board to study if the Flying W area should be an area in need of redevelopment |
| April 26, 2017 | Planning Board adopts resolution recommending the Township designate the Flying W area as area in need of redevelopment |
| May 2, 2017 | Township Council adopts resolution designating the Flying W area as a "Non-Condemnation Redevelopment Area" |
| August 28, 2018 | New Jersey Department of Community Affairs approves the designation |
| September 15, 2020 | NJ Superior Court approves Medford's Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, which includes 90 family rental affordable units in the Flying W development |
| March 15, 2021 | "Redevelopment Plan Flying W" prepared for the Township |
| March 24, 2021 | Planning Board adopts resolution recommending that Council adopt Flying W redevelopment plan after determining it was consistent with provisions of Housing Element of Township Master Plan |
| April 5, 2021 | Council adopts ordinance adopting the Flying W Redevelopment Plan, which commits to the construction of the 90 affordable units |
| February 1, 2022 | Council adopts resolution designating Fostertown Road LLC as the redeveloper of the Flying W area |
The 380-housing-unit redevelopment plan for the Flying W includes 181 single-family homes (upper left), 90 affordable apartments (far right), 51 townhomes (center) and 58 townhomes (lower left). Fostertown Road is the straight horizontal line in the drawing bisecting the development.
