The City of Columbus has approved a change to the 2020 aviation budget so that the airport can fund the construction of new single-engine aircraft hangars.
The ordinance allows the airport to appropriate $779,430 from the aviation general operating fund for the hangar project.
The airport’s plan is to build a large building with seven individual hangar units. Aviation board president Mark Pillar in a previous interview said that the airport would look to rent these units at $275 per month with a Consumer Price Index adjustment every five years. Airport director Brian Payne has said that electricity and gas service would not be included in the monthly cost.
While city council members approved the ordinance unanimously, some members of the public wrote e-mails to the city expressing their opposition to the project. Their concerns included long-term planning, pricing on the hangars and whether or not the project meets tenants’ needs.
The city also received an e-mail from aviation commissioner Doug Van Klompenburg, who expressed doubts about the economics of the project. When the airport board voted 3-1 to approve the hangars’ construction at a special meeting in Sept. 28, Klompenburg was the sole vote against.
Payne has said that it will take about 27 years for the project to break even. However, he also said that there is a real need for the new hangars.
“We have not only a waiting list, we have a survey that went out to these tenants and far exceeds the capacity for what we’re building,” he said Nov. 17.
Payne said the hangars are a sound investment and estimated that, “When we fill these units, and likely even before they’re even built or constructed, the first year, we’ll be making 3.07% on those.”
The contractor hired for constructing the seven-hangar building is Dunlap & Company, Inc. Dunlap’s original base bid was $1.04 million and its original alternate bid was $865,000. However, after removing and rethinking some of the work, the airport was able to reduce the cost to $779,430.
Overall, the hangar project’s total cost is about $1.17 million. The airport received $393,277 in tax increment financing funds from the Columbus Redevelopment Commission that will go toward the ground work for the hangar project. Dave O’Mara Contractor, Inc, will be the contractor for that part of the project, which includes grading and asphalt work for the building site and parking lot.
