The railroads were the first companies to realize the potential of making money from their air rights. A good example of this is Grand Central Terminal in New York, where William J. Wilgus"), chief engineer of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad"), devised a plan to profit from air rights. At first, the railroad simply built a platform above the rail yards to allow the development of buildings atop. In 1954, the railroad began to realize that it could sell more air rights and proposed replacing Grand Central Terminal with a 50-story tower. This is how the MetLife Building was built next to the station, following public outcry over the demolition of Grand Central Terminal.[15] This approach has been used in Chicago since the construction of the Prudential Building in 1955 on the active railroad tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad.[16] In 2017, west of the Chicago River, River Point and 150 North Riverside were built on the tracks leading to the Amtrak station.

Building on platforms over railway tracks is still potentially very profitable. In the mid-2000s, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) attempted to sell air rights to the New York Jets so they could build West Side Stadium above Manhattan's West Side Yard, near Penn Station, as part of the Hudson Yards redevelopment. The Hudson Yards megadevelopment was eventually built above the rail yard. In Brooklyn, Barclays Center and Pacific Park have been built above Atlantic Yards.

The city of Los Angeles funded a $100,000 feasibility study request for proposal in January 2007 to explore building a freeway park in Hollywood. The park would be built on US Highway 101. "U.S. Route 101 (California)") And would contain 97,124.6 m² of new green areas.[17]​.

The landowner has exclusive development rights in the "space" on their land. Under common law, constructing a 'resaca' that breaks the vertical plane of a neighbor's property is trespass and the property owner has the right to remove the offending structure. The airspace is owned and retains development rights that can be sold or transferred. Therefore, in a dense downtown area, each building in the area may be entitled to thirty-five stories of airspace above its property.

In one possible scenario, the owners of an old building only three stories tall could make a lot of money by selling their building and allowing a thirty-five-story skyscraper to be built in its place. In a different scenario, a skyscraper developer may purchase unused airspace from an adjacent property owner to develop a larger building. In November 2005, Christ Church&action=edit&redlink=1 "Christ Church (New York) (not yet drafted)") in New York sold its vertical development rights for a record $430 per square foot, earning more than $30 million on the sale for the right to build on the space above its building.[18]​.

The railroads were the first companies to realize the potential of making money from their air rights. A good example of this is Grand Central Terminal in New York, where William J. Wilgus"), chief engineer of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad"), devised a plan to profit from air rights. At first, the railroad simply built a platform above the rail yards to allow the development of buildings atop. In 1954, the railroad began to realize that it could sell more air rights and proposed replacing Grand Central Terminal with a 50-story tower. This is how the MetLife Building was built next to the station, following public outcry over the demolition of Grand Central Terminal.[15] This approach has been used in Chicago since the construction of the Prudential Building in 1955 on the active railroad tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad.[16] In 2017, west of the Chicago River, River Point and 150 North Riverside were built on the tracks leading to the Amtrak station.

Building on platforms over railway tracks is still potentially very profitable. In the mid-2000s, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) attempted to sell air rights to the New York Jets so they could build West Side Stadium above Manhattan's West Side Yard, near Penn Station, as part of the Hudson Yards redevelopment. The Hudson Yards megadevelopment was eventually built above the rail yard. In Brooklyn, Barclays Center and Pacific Park have been built above Atlantic Yards.

The city of Los Angeles funded a $100,000 feasibility study request for proposal in January 2007 to explore building a freeway park in Hollywood. The park would be built on US Highway 101. "U.S. Route 101 (California)") And would contain 97,124.6 m² of new green areas.[17]​.

The landowner has exclusive development rights in the "space" on their land. Under common law, constructing a 'resaca' that breaks the vertical plane of a neighbor's property is trespass and the property owner has the right to remove the offending structure. The airspace is owned and retains development rights that can be sold or transferred. Therefore, in a dense downtown area, each building in the area may be entitled to thirty-five stories of airspace above its property.

In one possible scenario, the owners of an old building only three stories tall could make a lot of money by selling their building and allowing a thirty-five-story skyscraper to be built in its place. In a different scenario, a skyscraper developer may purchase unused airspace from an adjacent property owner to develop a larger building. In November 2005, Christ Church&action=edit&redlink=1 "Christ Church (New York) (not yet drafted)") in New York sold its vertical development rights for a record $430 per square foot, earning more than $30 million on the sale for the right to build on the space above its building.[18]​.