The planned closure of Rialto Municipal Airport, also known as Art Scholl Memorial Field, in southern California sometime next year means even fewer places for aircraft owners to base their airplanes and yet another community without the benefits of a vibrant airport. Plans call for Lewis-Hillwood Rialto to build a mixed-use housing and office development on the airport’s 453 acres. Lewis-Hillwood is a joint venture of The Lewis Operating Companies and Hillwood, a developer owned by Ross Perot Company.
One odd wrinkle in the plan to close Art Scholl Field is that Hillwood and the Perot family are experts at airport development, having pumped new life into Fort Worth Alliance Airport north of Fort Worth, Texas. Since the groundbreaking in 1998, Hillwood has helped build extensive aviation, industrial, housing and entertainment facilities on and around Alliance Airport, suggesting that the Perot family appreciates the benefits of a robust community airport.
