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1967 – The Beginning
In 1967 Tom Earley, Jr. began turning his dream of developing a residential Airpark into reality. He started with the runway.
1969 – Formation
In 1969 Tom created Stellar City Airpark, the first residential section of the Airpark.
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1967 – Runway, looking north toward Tempe
1976 – Commercial Expansion
Tom Van Sickle bought the property, created the commercial half of the Airpark and added the south half of the runway.
1979 – Chandler Annexation
The City of Chandler expanded to the west, including Stellar Airpark and the surrounding area.
1980s – Financial Challenges
The recession of the late 1980’s led to the south half of the runway property to be seized by the Resolution Trust Corp. (RTC) for disposal. Additionally, the north half faced an insurmountable tax burden.
1990 – Saved and Consolidated
Residents realized the Airpark was in financial jeopardy. Several residents, including Mike Kramer and Dan Perry, took steps to save the Airpark. They purchased the south half of the runway from the RTC, resolved tax challenges, consolidated the north and south halves of the runway, and created the Stellar Runway Utilizers Association.
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1991 – Stellar Day
1991 – First "Stellar Day"
The homeowners celebrated the Airpark’s rescue and the aviation lifestyle in the community’s first “Stellar Day”.
1999 – Residential Expansion
Mark-Taylor developed the area south of the existing residential properties, more than doubling the number of residential lots, and resurfaced the runway and taxiways.
2008 – Renconstruction
The runway, taxiways, infield areas, and ramps were completely rebuilt as a generous gift from Ron Pratte, Jeff Mark, and several other contributors.
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2009 – Runway after reconstruction, looking northeast