Commercial drone delivery is no longer experimental. It is becoming digital infrastructure, with the United States leading and the UK and Ireland close behind.
The thesis is simple. Drone delivery is faster, cleaner, and cheaper than trucks. But the real story isn't about drones. It's about airspace. Who controls it, who profits from it, and whether this infrastructure will be built through markets or command and control seizure.
The Engine of Urban Growth and the Future of Logistics
Air rights are a force multiplier. They are an established asset class, worth trillions of dollars globally. They enable development, unlock trapped value, and densify cities without displacement. They are what enable airports to allow aeroplanes to land and take off through private air rights outside the airport perimeter. The airports pay the owners of the air rights for access. From Manhattan to Texas, London to Sydney, they have funded new housing, infrastructure, and economic growth.
Recent air rights transactions demonstrate how valuable this asset class is. In West Harlem, a 28-story tower was made possible by a $28 million air rights deal with NYCHA, using the top of a parking lot to fund repairs for 3,000 residents. It also created 147 middle-income apartments.
A $38 million office building acquisition in Midtown happened not for the building itself, but for the 15,000 square feet of unused vertical air rights. On Broadway, a landmarked three-story building sold for $13 million. What made it valuable was not the old cafeteria, but the 23,000 square feet of unused air rights.
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