Paulding County Regional Airport

In 1975, in anticipation of a second airport, the City of Atlanta purchased 10,165 acres (41.14 km²) of land west of the city in Paulding County for $925 per acre. In early 2007 Paulding County purchased 162 acres (0.7 km²) of the property for a new general aviation airport (opened in 2009 as Paulding County Regional Airport), however Atlanta's second commercial airport could still be built on the remaining property. Paulding County is unserved by either rapid transit or freeways.

Dawson Forest

The City of Atlanta also owns 10,130 acres (41.0 km²) of land located southwest of Dawsonville, Georgia, which was purchased in 1972 from Lockheed, and was the previous site of the Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory (GNAL). The property is currently referred to as the Dawson Forest City of Atlanta Tract, and managed by the Georgia Forestry Commission with a trail system open to the public. The tract is located approximately ten miles from the end of limited access on Georgia 400 north of Cumming, Georgia. An area of 3 acres (12,000 m²) previously occupied by GNAL was restricted following 1978 testing which found residual nuclear radiation from the experiments performed there. Subsequent studies in 1991 and 1997 found radiation levels to be at or slightly above normal background levels. The property also encompasses Amicalola Creek, which various groups are lobbying to be designated as a scenic river. The forest has also been proposed for use as a major reservoir for the city of Atlanta water system.

There are two 10,000 acre sites owned by Atlanta; these are two examples of where government using forethought took appropriate action to anticipate the needs for a secondary Atlanta airport in a location that has been set aside for development that will not cause irreparable damage to homeowners property values.

Perhaps Propeller Investments should seek to partner with the City of Atlanta for an appropriately sited airport instead of in downtown Lawrenceville.