Harper Ridge Airport

The primary reason for closure was economic, driven by the sale of the land for high-value industrial development. The airport was located in a growing suburban area where land values increased significantly, making it more profitable to sell the property for commercial use than to continue operating a small general aviation airport.

The site of the former airport has been completely redeveloped and is unrecognizable as an airfield today. The land is now occupied by the global headquarters and innovation center for the Swagelok Company, a major manufacturing firm. The runway, hangars, and all other airport infrastructure have been demolished to make way for large industrial buildings, corporate offices, and parking lots.

Harper Ridge Airport was a privately-owned, public-use general aviation airport that likely opened in the early 1960s. For several decades, it served the local aviation community in Solon and the surrounding Cuyahoga County area. Its operations were typical for a small airfield: it catered to private pilots, offering services like flight training, aircraft storage in a few small hangars, and a base for recreational flying. The airport featured a single asphalt runway, approximately 2,600 feet long, oriented northeast/southwest (Runway 5/23). It played a modest but important role in supporting the post-war general aviation boom in Northeast Ohio before succumbing to urban expansion.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening Harper Ridge Airport. The land has been permanently repurposed with significant industrial infrastructure built directly on the former airport grounds. The complete and irreversible redevelopment of the site for corporate and manufacturing use makes a return to aviation activities impossible.