County advances airport development: Mead & Hunt amendment approved and hangar RFP released

County officials said they are taking incremental steps to prepare an airport-area industrial park and to expand hangar capacity at the Leadville–Lake County Airport. Commissioners approved an amendment to the existing professional services agreement with Mead & Hunt for Phase 3 off-airport planning support and authorized release of a ground-lease hangar RFP.

Adam Ducharme, tourism and economic development director, told the board Mead & Hunt will supply market benchmarking against comparable communities and produce two conceptual layouts showing parcel sizing informed by market research — information the county said will make subsequent engineering and entitlement work more cost-effective. The approved amendment fee is $19,506.

Josh Adamson, airport director, described the hangar RFP as a ground-lease program that gives proposers flexibility on hangar size. The draft RFP provides an initial 30-year ground lease with a possible 10-year extension and leaves price negotiation flexible to reflect proximity to services. Adamson said the county will retain ownership of the land and that improvements will revert to the county at lease termination, requiring proposers to maintain their buildings during the lease.

The board voted unanimously to approve both actions. Commissioners said they want to avoid over-committing funds in the entitlement phase and welcomed Mead & Hunt’s market-based approach.

Ending: County staff will publish the hangar RFP, conduct pre-bid meetings and accept proposals; Mead & Hunt deliverables will be used to refine future engineering and entitlement RFPs.