Funding and financing

1. Introduction

The focus and goal of this report is to put forward a plan to reshape the Newark Liberty International Airport (Airport) and Dayton neighborhood into Newark’s Airport City - a mixed-use, economically robust neighborhood that leverages the airport’s success for the benefit of the entire city.

Such a bold plan, initiated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey with redevelopment and modernization plans for the Airport, can only be successful if it moves forward in close collaboration with the leadership of the City of Newark. Newark’s South Ward — an underinvested neighborhood to the west of the Airport — is the local community that will be a primary beneficiary of the project. The central idea is to combine of the initiatives and goals of the City and Airport, to create an airport that is “of” the city, not just “in” it.

The partnership between the Port Authority and the City of Newark has the once-in-ageneration opportunity to foster the creation of an Airport City in the Newark neighborhood of Dayton. Both organizations have existing, separate plans for

Context of the Port Authority and the City

1.1 A Pivotal Moment For Newark

the neighborhood, which must be considered in any Newark planning. However, while these organizations have historically struggled to work jointly on projects, the plan outlined by this report represents a pivotal moment for both the City and Port Authority to come together and realize this vision to the benefit of both parties.

The Port Authority’s plans involve the remaking of the Airport itself—namely the construction of a free-standing Terminal A, set to open in early 2022. This will replace the almost 50-year-old current terminal A. An essential replacement for the current and outmoded AirTrain is in the planning stages and will soon move toward procurement and construction. The Port Authority is also preparing for the creation of an Airport Master Plan that will define the replacement of Terminal B and establish