A 130-acre property with a private airport is for sale in Hampstead.

Topsail Airpark is listed for $8.5 million. The previous owner, John F. Young, died in January at the age of 90, and his estate wants to sell the property, said Frank Efird Jr., managing director of SVN | Efird Commercial Real Estate and one of the property's listing agents.

Efird, whose fellow listing agent is Adam Hall of SVN | Peace & Co., said in an email Friday that redevelopment "is the most likely scenario" for the Pender County property because it's zoned residential and agricultural.

But "we have had interest from buyers who would use it as an airpark as well as residential builders," he said.

The property is located at 25311 U.S. 17 in Hampstead.

Former owner John Young, born in Danville, Kentucky, in 1933, had a lengthy military and aerospace industry career. His final military assignment was at Charleston Air Force Base, where he commanded an elite combat controller unit, according to his obituary. He and his wife, Ann, had a gift shop called Captain's Cabin and an antique and ice cream store on Topsail Island.

"He owned numerous small planes over the years and took a lengthy maintenance course at Seymour Johnson AFB to qualify him to do annual inspections and to fix virtually anything on an airplane," his obituary stated.

The Topsail Airpark property Young owned includes three private hangars with more than 13,000 square feet, runways and an airport operations control room. The property could also be "ideal for unique commercial development opportunities," according to marketing materials for the property.