Airport commission approves ground lease for Hangar 319, advances six-unit hangar project

The Airport Commission voted to approve a ground-lease agreement with Hangar 319 LLC that clears the way for construction of a new multi-unit hangar at the municipal airport.

Commission discussion centered on the proposed hangar’s design, budget and how new spaces would be allocated. Commissioners and staff described a proposed “six-place” hangar with 45-foot doors (designed to accommodate newer, wider aircraft), an expected tenant rent of about $350 per month and a total project budget of roughly $1.4 million.

Staff said the $1.4 million estimate breaks down to about $1 million for the building and roughly $400,000 for taxiway infrastructure and associated work, including design and construction oversight. Funding sources discussed at the meeting included roughly $600,000 from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, about $300,000 from the general aviation vertical infrastructure program (noted in the packet as a capped source) and approximately $425,000 from an EIP program for paving. Commissioners were told a mix of cancelled CIP items (solar array and a modernization project) would free roughly $100,000 as local match, leaving a…