Airpark

Airpark History

Alexandria Field was built in 1944 in the middle of several cornfields.  The vision for an airpark took root in 1975 when Bill Fritsche and Linda Fritsche Castner built their homes and a hangar on the property adjacent to the family-owned airport.  By subdividing three more lots, effectively they started a residential airpark.

William Melvin Fritsche who built the airport with his brother Paul was a lifelong resident of the community.  He was a practical man who gained some wisdom about the place he lived for nearly 66 years. Bill served on the Township Committee for ten years with three terms as Mayor.  He was Mayor when he died in 1979.  His community service allowed a common ground approach to the expansion and growth of Alexandria Township ‘s two small general aviation facilities as people moved into the rural community.  New residents learned about and appreciated the right to farm and the right to fly components of the town’s master plan.  In 1983 the town accepted and passed the New Jersey Airport Zoning legislation act.

A basic philosophy of successful airport/community relations has always been to have an equal or greater number of people supporting the facility than those who might prefer not to see an airport in their community.  The airpark concept allows for these aviation enthusiasts to provide a significant buffer zone around the airport.  Bill’s son accomplished the movement of Airport Road through a NJ Safety Grant allowing for a greater buffer between local traffic and the ends of runway 8/26 and 13/31.  This opened up greater options for custom designed country estates for pilots.  The belief that low building density was both a benefit for the community and for the safety of pilots was good common ground for development.

Today

Today the airpark has nine homes in the airpark (eight with their hangars completed) and two additional lots sold but not built upon yet.  The lot sizes vary; none are less than 6 acres one is over twenty acres with the average being around 12 acres. There are still options for additional building, if interested you can contact Bill or Linda at 908.730.9223.  The possibilities include non-residential flex space buildings where office space and hangar space can be combined with access to the runways.

Airpark Photos