Business View Magazine | October 2019

183 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2019 PENNR IDGE A I RPORT Enterprises. “It’s called Pennridge Airport Business Park and the first building is roughly a 100,000-sq.- ft., 32-ft.-clear, industrial building. And it’s 98 percent done.” According to the Park’s site plan, five more buildings are proposed, which, when completed, will offer over 690,000 square feet of space. Ideal for production, warehousing, and build-to -suit requirements, the Pennridge Airport Business Park is located less than three miles from Route 309, which provides access to I-476, via both the Lansdale Interchange and the Quakertown Interchange. Route 309 also provides access to the Lehigh Valley and both I-78 and I-276. The Borough of Perkasie, just 35 miles north of Philadelphia, offers small town charm with big city accessibility and is a great place to live, work, and play. It has the largest municipal park system in Bucks County, with over 80 acres of parks and trails, plus unique housing, upscale shopping, excellent schools, restaurants, nightlife, and more. “We’re courting several tenant prospects at the moment,” Brink reports. “In the next few months, wanted to buy it to develop housing on the property. Neighboring property owners and pilots fought against the zoning change for real estate development, claiming the Airport was a huge benefit to the community. By 1981, Rufe had done considerable development planning and was nearing approval for all the zoning when he was approached by Andy Deutsch, who lived on a farm a few miles away and flew his own jet airplane. In August 1981 Rufe sold the corporation to Deutsch, who invested money into the Airport, including widening the runway from 50 to 100 feet and lengthening it from the original 4,000 feet to 4,215 feet. The original terminal building was torn down and replaced by a larger terminal with a hangar suitable for jet aircraft. A taxiway was constructed for the full length of the runway, and a complete navigation system was installed. Today, PDE, which still owns the Airport, has resurrected Rufe’s original concept, which was to marry the airfield to an adjacent industrial park. “It’s been 50 years, and it’s finally happening,” says Rob Brink, President of Pennridge Development