The Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority is offering Hardwick Field to the public at a live auction June 5 at 11 a.m. onsite at 405 Airport Road N.W., in or around the main hangar.
The 62.5 acres are zoned Residential Agriculture. It will be sold in tracts, combinations or as a whole. All utilities are available. Electricity, water and sewer provided by Cleveland Utilities. The property is surveyed. Plats are available by mail from Dempsey Co., P.O. Box 1341, 106 East 8th Avenue, Rome, Georgia; by calling 706-291-0746 or toll free at 1-800-DEMPSEY; and by downloading from http://www.dempseyauction.com on the Internet.
There is no flood hazard and the property is restricted against use as an airfield.
The site is adjacent to Anatole subdivision, the location of "some of the most beautiful homes in Bradley County," said organizers. "History and location, only minutes north of the intersection of Paul Huff Parkway and Keith Street, make Hardwick Field ideal for development."
The only structure selling is the hangar building. All others must be moved within 60 days if the current owner does not purchase them.
The terms are 20 percent down on sale day with the balance due on or within 30 days. A 10 percent buyer’s premium will be charged to all final confirmed bids.
Dempsey Auction personnel will be available June 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment, to show the property or answer questions about the auction process. For more information, please contact Lynn Dempsey anytime at 706-766-6647.
Hardwick Field served as the local general aviation airport until Cleveland Regional Jetport replaced it in January 2013. The opening of the new airport ended an era of more than 60 years of aviation endeavors at Hardwick Field off of North Lee Highway.
According to an excerpt from article published in the Cleveland Daily Banner, Hardwick Field was constructed in the early 1950s when World War II veteran George Castings Jr. built a dirt landing field to be used as a training facility for flight students. Mr. Castings flew P-47 fighter planes in World War II. In the late 1950s, Mr. Castings sold the training center and property to the city of Cleveland for $10,000. The facility, at that time, consisted of a 2,000-foot runway, a 1,000-gallon fuel tank and a six-plane concrete hangar. In 1959, the city extended the airstrip to 3,300 feet and paved it with asphalt. This facility met the community’s needs until late in the 20th century when it was determined the runway was too short for many of the more-modern aircraft. During its early years, the facility was simply called the Cleveland Airport.
In the late 1960s, late Cleveland businessman and City Commissioner Bobby Taylor, also a World War II veteran, recommended the airfield be named in honor of longtime entrepreneur and president of Cleveland Woolen Mills C.L. Hardwick.