Ocean City Airport Secures Federal Funding for Upgrades

Ocean City’s municipal airport has been awarded more than $100,000 in federal funding. Ocean City is among 18 airports in New Jersey receiving a total of $53 million in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. 

The funding is for airport-related infrastructure grants to improve the state’s airports, according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, who represents New Jersey. “This investment of $53 million in New Jersey’s airports will modernize our airport infrastructure, enhance safety, and make flying more convenient for Jersey’s passengers,” Booker said in the release. 

He continued, “I am proud to have helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, legislation that continues to make waves in our nation and in New Jersey’s infrastructure. Thank you to the FAA for this historic investment that will spur economic growth, create jobs, and improve safety for years to come.” 

The FAA grant would be used to cover part of the cost of repairing and sealing cracks in the apron at the Ocean City airport, Ocean City Public Information Officer Doug Bergen said.

FAA funding also can be used for such improvements as terminal expansions, baggage system upgrades, runway safety enhancements and air traffic infrastructure improvements, the release said. 

Ocean City rolled out plans a couple of years ago to give the airport, built in 1935, a much-needed facelift. It includes plans to build a new terminal. Financing for the project would combine an estimated $6 million in city funding with a donation of $3 million from Berger Realty owner Leon Grisbaum. Now in his 90s, Grisbaum was a private pilot for 75 years. 

    This is a rendering of a potential new terminal building at the Ocean City Municipal Airport. (Courtesy of Ocean City)
  

The project has been stalled while the city awaits word on federal funding for the new terminal. Ocean City sought $3 million in funding through the FAA to help pay for the project, which would be in addition to Grisbaum’s donation.

The city would need about $6 million in additional money to build the new terminal, city officials said. The city was unsuccessful in securing a $3 million FAA grant earlier this year. But city officials emphasized that the project is still “firmly on the radar to move forward.”

City officials have said that construction could begin in late 2024, but it depends on the timing of the FAA grant. The new terminal building would include better facilities for pilots, airport offices, a pro shop serving Ocean City’s public golf course next door and a new restaurant on the third floor with expansive views of the runway and back bay. 

The airport is the only one in New Jersey located on a barrier island. It is among just a few airports located on a barrier island on the entire East Coast. It handles mostly small, single-engine planes. But its nearly 3,000-foot runway is long enough to accommodate private jets. 

Meanwhile, the federal funding for improvements at the 18 New Jersey airports is through the Airport Infrastructure Grant program, one of three aviation grant programs created by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. To date, nearly $9 billion of the $15 billion total of AIG funding has been made available to airports across the country, Booker’s release states. 

The other airports in New Jersey benefiting from the $53 million in funding are Atlantic City International, Hammonton, Essex County, Lakewood, Lincoln Park, Linden, Millville, Morristown, South Jersey Regional, Newark Liberty International, Somerset, Teterboro, Ocean County, Trenton-Mercer, Greenwood Lake, Cape May County and Woodbine.

    A small and antiquated building that currently serves as the airport's operations center will be replaced with a new terminal.