What are the ingredients for a small-hub airport? At Springfield-Branson National Airport, it’s around 100 employees, 3,300 acres of land, 1,400 lights, 170 pieces of directional signage, 200,000 square feet of paved markings and 6 million square feet of concrete averaging about 18 inches thick – or enough pavement for a two-lane road from the Queen City to Tulsa, Okla., according to SGF Aviation Director Brian Weiler.
Part of that massive infrastructure serves the airport’s general aviation facilities, which recently completed the bulk of a $5.6 million expansion to accommodate more corporate airplanes.
“We knew that we needed additional hangar space, that was a given,” said Weiler, noting two out of three phases of the GA expansion are wrapped up.
With a $5 million aviation grant in hand from the Missouri Department of Transportation and an eye on economic development, airport officials a year ago embarked on infrastructure to literally pave the way for eight new hangars.
“General aviation is really the front door for a lot of companies coming to Springfield to evaluate the market for business investment and potentially to create jobs here,” said Ryan Mooney, senior vice president for economic development at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. “Having a marquee facility and a nice entry point leaves a good impression on them for this community and Springfield’s ability to help them as they are looking to invest money in this market.”
The first stage of the project redeveloped 12 acres with access roads, taxiways and utilities. Officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 20.
“I suspect by midsummer we will have two major hangars under development,” Weiler said.
Airport officials have said 25 general aviation hangars are fully occupied at SGF, as it’s known in airport code, and about 50 private plane operators are on a waiting list for additional hangar space.
Weiler said the new GA development is intended to make way for the construction of large corporate hangars, while individuals on the waiting list are seeking to rent one of 35 airport-owned hangars, commonly referred to as T-hangars, ranging from $140 to $250 per month. The airport complex also houses 33 privately owned hangars and 18 corporate hangars.
Ready for takeoffFive of the eight spaces already are spoken for by Springfield businesses.
Burgess Aircraft Management LLC, which has operated SGF-based charter service OzAir since 2007, has leased the largest space at 22,500 square feet, and Orion Aviation LLC has leased the next largest at 16,900 square feet for aircraft storage.
“The new hangar is going to be a little bigger than our existing hangar,” said Mark Burgess, founder of Burgess Aircraft Management and chief operations officer for OzAir, which currently leases a 100-foot by 150-foot space at the airport.
“When we did the lease originally, we had the capability of expanding 50 feet on the north side of the hangar, so we still have the capability of taking this hangar to 150 square [feet], but cost effectiveness of doing another hangar as opposed to doing an extension made more sense.”
Burgess said OzAir has signed letters of intent for three smaller spaces – each 3,600 square feet with attached office areas – it plans to sublease to business flight departments seeking a base for corporate aircraft. OzAir has hired Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc. to engineer the hangar projects.
“Some of our tenants are more likely to be happy in a single-bay space as opposed to being buried in our bigger hangars, so it’s more of a logistical deal for us and an investment for us as well going forward,” he said.
Orion Aviation was organized by Dr. Brad Bradshaw in June 2012, according to Missouri secretary of state filings, and Federal Aviation Administration records show a 2007 Cessna aircraft registered to Orion in August 2012. Bradshaw could not be reached for comment by press time.
Mooney said the airport’s GA operations are a key connector for local companies that do business abroad.
Springfield-based companies with aircraft at SGF include Assemblies of God, Bass Pro Shops, BKD LLP, Great Southern Bank, Killian Construction Co. and Prime Inc., according to Springfield Business Journal archives.
“In business, time is money,” Mooney said. “As much time as they can save by using an efficient, well-run general aviation facility at our airport, the better they can do for their company.”
The three remaining available spaces at the GA site are about 10,000 square feet apiece.
With development of additional taxiways, six more hangars could come on line, Weiler said.
“It was demand driven, and when we were doing the planning I was thinking five to eight years,” he said of the projected timeline. “But now that five of the eight are already gone, we will look into ways that we can accelerate that.”
New face, new nameA second phase already complete upgraded the interior and furnishings at the GA terminal. A focal point is a new table made by local artist Andie Robinson from the repurposed wing of a Tomahawk aircraft.
“We’re trying to project a professional and open-for-business image,” Weiler said. “That was something that I and the board had been wanting to do for some time, but you cannot get grants, typically, for those kinds of projects so we needed to stay within a fairly tight budget.”
Of the roughly $5.6 million project, SGF is kicking in $565,000.
Weiler estimated the renovation project accomplished roughly $500,000 worth of work at an estimated cost of $250,000, funded entirely by the airport, through efforts in-house and from local businesses. Weiler said engineering firm Olsson Associates Inc. designed the terminal’s layout, and Buxton Kubik Dodd Inc. handled the interior.
The third step, yet to be completed, is the rebranding of the airport’s fixed base operator, which provides support services to SGF’s general aviation operation. Weiler said the ground rental rate for GA space is 25 cents per square foot.
“Now that we’ve got the expansion area, we’ve got the redone terminal building, we’re at a point where it is time to rebrand,” Weiler said, noting SGF is the first of five airports he has managed where the FBO is run by the airport rather than a private company. “There is kind of a perception when people fly into an airport with a municipally run FBO that … the service may not be quite as good, and honestly, that’s not the case here.”
Weiler said the process will involve input from stakeholders and employees before SGF’s board of directors reach a decision.
Roughly 12 acres of infrastructure is now in place at SGF, paving the way for eight new hangars, five of which already are leased.
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