Then and Now: The Landings Condominium Airport

          O'Hare, Midway, Rockford. The Landings? Many residents of Huntley are surprised to hear that there is an airport in their small Chicago suburb. No, it is not for large passenger air crafts, but instead is for personal airplanes. Called the Landings Condominium Airport, and known as The Landings for short, it was constructed in the early 1970s by Barko Development Corp. People would purchase a share of the airport when getting their hangers, which were insulated and provided great protection for personal and collectible air crafts.  Businesses also were conducted out of some of the hangers.
          The original plan was to erect enough hangers to house 300 air crafts.  This new airport did not sit well with some of the long time residents in the area, but construction still commenced. Not all the hangers could be constructed at once, so construction was to be done in waves. By the early 1980s, the airport was able to house about 100 air crafts.  But controversy continued to follow the site. In 1980, there were two fatal crashes at The Landings. Around that time, the airport had petitioned to erect 24 more hangers, which were denied by the state. By 1982, the owners of The Landings went to court to add another 176 hangers, and to take care of another legal battle. They were again denied and no more hangers were ever added.
          Over 20 years later, the airport was once again the source of controversy. This time, however, the issues had nothing to do with any action by the airport. In the mid 2000s, ComEd was looking to expand the reliability of their electrical service by running tall metal electric lines along the south edge of the village. One issue that arose was the possible placement of the lines near the air strip, but because the airport had 99 hangers with 125 air crafts, state laws stating that no hazard could be constructed near an established airport with 20 or more planes protected the airport. ComEd had to move their poles farther away from the airport to abide by this law.
          Today, the airport still sits quietly at the back a small housing development off Powers Road. Owners still house their prized planes and other items in the hangers. And because the airport is private property, there is no trespassing.

The caption says it all. From 1981.

The Landings Airport. 04/22/2013.