Airport Spotlight: Homeowners Reclaiming Crest Airpark

Kent, Washington, residents unite to preserve the place they love.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, April 20, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Norman Grier Field (S36) is a small airport backed by a passionate community. [Credit: Meg Godlewski]

Key Takeaways:

For decades, homeowners at Flying Acres Airpark faced uncertainty about losing access to Norman Grier Field (formerly Crest Airpark) due to its private ownership and expiring property easements.
The Flying Acres Homeowners Association (FAHA) successfully purchased the 64-acre airport in July 2025 for approximately $3.125 million, with 93 out of 116 homeowners contributing to the acquisition.
Now community-owned and volunteer-managed, the airpark is undergoing significant repairs and improvements to ensure its perpetual operation, enhance safety and security, and resolve long-standing access concerns for its residents.

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Imagine buying a home because it offered access to an airport, only to later learn the property might change hands and the runway could be lost. That uncertainty lingered for decades at Flying Acres Airpark in Kent, Washington, adjacent to Norman Grier Field (S36), formerly known as Crest Airpark.

In July 2025, the Flying Acres Homeowners Association (FAHA) purchased the airport through New Crest Airpark LLC, an entity created specifically for the purchase and management of the 64-acre property on behalf of the airpark community. According to FAHA members, the airport sale and purchase was decades in the works.