Ocean City Breaks Ground for New Airport Terminal

Even at 96 years old, Leon Grisbaum goes to work seven days a week at his Berger Realty company in Ocean City.

An avid pilot, he flew for about 70 years before finally stopping at the age of 90. He wanted to continue flying, but the Federal Aviation Administration took away his pilot’s license.

“The only reason I don’t fly now is because they took my license away. They called me and they said, ‘Leon, you’re 90, you’re too old to fly.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m flying today. They said, ‘Well, today’s your last day,’” Grisbaum recalled.

Although his flying days are over, Grisbaum will still have a major impact on Ocean City’s aviation industry thanks to a $3 million donation he has made to help fund the construction of a new airport terminal building.

Grisbaum joined with a host of elected officials led by Mayor Jay Gillian and U.S. Rep Jeff Van Drew at the Ocean City Municipal Airport on Tuesday to celebrate a ceremonial groundbreaking for the the project.

It will be named the Leon and Elizabeth Grisbaum Terminal Building, also in honor of Grisbaum’s late wife.

    Berger Realty owner Leon Grisbaum stands in front of a line of planes on the tarmac at Ocean City Municipal Airport.
  

Van Drew, whose congressional district includes Ocean City, said it is unusual for a private citizen to donate his own money for a public transportation project. Van Drew serves as vice chairman of the House Transportation Committee and is also a member of the Aviation Subcommittee.

“We see a lot of projects. It’s not all that often that somebody comes forward with their own treasure and says this is important to the city, it’s important for everything that we believe in, and I’m going to give my own money. I call that Americanism. That’s pretty neat,” Van Drew said while addressing Grisbaum as they stood together at the ceremony.

Referring to the airport’s busier times years ago, Grisbaum emphasized that he simply hopes to “get it a little bit revived” by helping to fund the new terminal.

He recalled years ago when the airport was crowded with planes parked on the tarmac and there was a modest restaurant popular with pilots.

“I remember the days when we used to close the airport. There was no place to land. It was filled,” he said of the parking spots for planes. “But there’s really no reason to come here now unless you can eat or go to the beach, or something like that.”

The airport restaurant closed during the COVID pandemic outbreak. Without the restaurant to serve as an attraction, some pilots chose not to fly to Ocean City, Grisbaum explained.

“Well, anybody that has an airplane, they want to go fly some place to eat. When we lost our restaurant, we lost a certain amount of pilots,” he said.

However, the new two-story terminal building will include a restaurant on the top floor offering sweeping views of the bay and marshlands next to the runway.

Gillian said he and members of City Council have promised Grisbaum that the new terminal will be a beautiful facility featuring a nice restaurant.

“One unique thing about airports is the restaurants and their little cafes. They have their own personalities.  And that’s what you do – you fly to different places around and in a couple of hours, you can be down in Florida, you can be in Philadelphia, you can be up in Pittsburgh,” Gillian said while noting that his late father, Roy Gillian, was a pilot.

    The modest existing airport terminal will be demolished.
  

At this point, city officials are still working on the final designs for the terminal. In addition to the restaurant, it will house the operations center for the airport and a pro shop for the adjacent nine-hole municipal golf course.

The city is trying to secure an FAA grant for millions of dollars to help finance the project. Gillian indicated that the terminal would be downsized a bit if the FAA funding is not approved, but noted it would still be a first-class facility. The city will also kick in funding for the project.

Construction is tentatively expected to begin sometime in 2025. A target date for completion wasn’t announced at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Turning toward Grisbaum, Gillian told him, “I know you’re anxious like me. You want it done already.”

The current terminal building, a small and modest structure, will be demolished. The building dates to the 1950s, airport director Todd Dwyer said.

Built in 1935, the airport’s claim to fame is that it 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.

The airport’s location on Bay Avenue at 26th Street is just a few blocks from the beach. It is not uncommon in summer to see people get out of their planes holding beach chairs and umbrellas.

    A plane prepares to take off after the airport groundbreaking ceremony.
  

The airport handles mostly small, single-engine planes. But the nearly 3,000-foot runway is long enough to accommodate private jets. Pop superstar Taylor Swift is known to fly into the airport on her jet from time to time during visits to the Jersey Shore.

Dwyer said the airport has about 20,000 takeoffs, landings, fly-bys and other aviation activity annually, which is consistent with years past. Recreational pilots, commercial charter flights, military aircraft, and Coast Guard helicopters use the facility.

“This is really important,” Gillian said of the role the airport plays in Ocean City. “But it’s also important to our tourism and our community, because so many people use this.”

Grisbaum, who lives in Ocean City, learned to fly in 1948. He would keep his planes at the Ocean City airport when he was still flying, including his twin-engine Beechcraft Baron.

He still stays active by working every day at his realty company and also drives his car. He said a doctor has advised him “to use it or lose it” now that he is in his 90s.

“The secret is not to lose it,” he said in an interview.

Van Drew, who met Grisbaum at the groundbreaking ceremony, said he was impressed by Grisbaum’s level of activity at 96. The audience laughed and cheered in appreciation when Van Drew said that Grisbaum, at his age, was doing better than him and Mayor Gillian.

“Mr. Grisbaum, what a remarkable and extraordinary individual you are. I meet this guy walking down here. He’s 96 years old. He’s doing better than Jay and me. Holy cow!” Van Drew said.

    Leon Grisbaum autographs a hard hat and shovels for City Council members Keith Hartzell, Dave Winslow and Jody Levchuk.