Leesburg hires consultants to scope West Side strategic plan; state shows interest in unmanned systems

Delta Airport Consultants briefed the Leesburg Airport Commission on Aug. 27 about a proposed West Side strategic plan that would produce three deliverables: a strategic development plan, a business (financial) plan and a marketing plan to attract aviation businesses to roughly 44 acres of undeveloped airport property.

Mary Ashburn Pearson, Delta’s local project lead, told commissioners the scope is flexible and can be tailored to the commission’s priorities. John Sorge (Delta), the project manager assigned to Leesburg, said the work would combine demand analysis, engineering constraints and financial modeling — Delta would partner with Davenport & Company for the financial analysis — and that the study could take about a year depending on the final scope.

Sorge said the plan would reassess assumptions in the airport’s current master plan and use actual air-traffic counts from the airport’s tower to model demand. "Part of this strategic plan would be figuring out what those businesses might best fit for what you want the airport to be," Sorge said.

Commissioners raised trade-offs between a narrowly focused West Side study and a broader airport-wide approach. Some members advocated concentrating on the West Side to give council a targeted recommendation; others said the South parcel site-preparation work already in the capital improvement program should be considered because it may meet short-term hangar demand.

Russ Seymour, the town’s economic-development representative, told the commission that state officials have identified unmanned-systems and aerospace businesses as priority targets and are actively seeking Northern Virginia sites. "When you talk with the state, they're now starting to focus. They're also starting to look at opportunities for providing funds for access, providing funds for actual development," Seymour said.

Commissioners and Delta staff discussed likely engineering challenges on the West Side (noted grading and environmental constraints), the airport’s capacity pressures and a hangar wait list referenced in the meeting. During the discussion the number on the hangar wait list was stated variously as "48" and then corrected to "28" by a speaker; the transcript did not reconcile the discrepancy and did not provide an authoritative, written wait-list figure.

Delta proposed about eight work sessions that would include airport leadership, commission members, town and regional stakeholders and industry representatives. Delta said it would produce materials suitable for sharing with the Town Council, FAA and potential private developers.

Commissioners asked Delta to refine the written scope to reflect the commission’s feedback, then distribute an updated scope for comment prior to executing a task order. No contract was executed at the Aug. 27 meeting; Delta noted the firm had been selected as the on-call consultant and that the actual task order and funding would be finalized once the scope, schedule and cost were agreed.

The commission also discussed regional and technological trends — such as unmanned aircraft systems, electric aircraft and short/vertical takeoff vehicles — and how such industries could affect long-term demand and land-use decisions for the airport.

The planning effort is intended to help the town and commission present a concrete, financially based recommendation to the Town Council and to guide the airport’s next master-plan update.