DETROIT — Coleman Young International Airport was once one of the nation’s busiest airports and a thriving piece of Detroit’s economy. But like so much else in the city, it festered for decades after the action moved to the suburbs.

Now local officials want to reinvigorate the 264-acre plot. The question is whether that means it will survive as an airport or be remade for other purposes.

The City Council this month is expected to select a firm to start studying options for the site, including using the land for a half-dozen new factories or other industrial uses. Unless the city uses the site for an economic development purpose, Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration says, Detroit will soon run out of wide-open, city-owned spaces that can be offered to companies looking to build manufacturing or other commercial facilities here.

Many council members, however, have said that the city should reinvest in the airport, saying it could be an economic engine as well.