downtown Covington. The older southeastern half of the airport was closed in September 1963, with the newer northwestern half remaining in use. Decline and closure With the Blue Ash Airport destined to remain a quaint general aviation facility, the City of Cincinnati began to seek other uses for the undeveloped portions of the tract. The non-profit Community Improvement Corporation, initially led by Reed Hartman, carved out a well-landscaped CIC Industrial Park at the former Parks Watson Airport to the east and, in 1979, the 18-hole Blue Ash Golf Course to the west. In 1977, Cincinnati finally replaced the grass runways with a paved runway and taxiways, the city's last major infrastructure improvements to the airport. In 2006, after years of negotiations, the City of Blue Ash purchased of the airfield, including all the hangars and taxiways, from the City of Cincinnati for $37.5 million over 30 years. Because the Federal Aviation Administration had been subsidizing airport maintenance, Cincinnati was originally required to spend all proceeds towards aviation-related expenses, but the city had hoped to use $11 million for the construction of a revived streetcar system now known as the Cincinnati Bell Connector. COAST, an anti-streetcar interest group, opposed the use of airport funds for the streetcar. Residents of some Cincinnati neighborhoods were also upset that Mayor Mark Mallory had promised to disburse the same funds to neighborhood councils during his 2005 campaign against David Pepper. Nevertheless, the two cities reworked the purchase in 2007 to avoid violating FAA rules. The most recent airport master plan called for the retention and improvement of the current runway but the removal and demolition of all facilities to the west of the runway (the current taxiways, hangars, and ramps), the construction of a parallel taxiway, and new terminals and facilities to the east of the runway. The reclaimed area to the west of the runway was to be converted into a park, some light retail spaces, a museum, and additional space for three relocated holes from the Blue Ash Golf Course. Despite these plans, the City of Cincinnati concluded in 2012 that it could not afford to reconfigure the airstrip and keep it operational and decided to focus its resources on Lunken Airport. Meanwhile, Blue Ash expressed little interest in operating the airport itself, pointing out that the FAA had declined to finance the reconfiguration on several occasions and the runway was "at the