Hoping to boost private business travel,
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is planning to develop a new facility for business and general aviation.
Milwaukee County, the airport's owner, released a request for qualifications (RFQ) last week to redevelop the northeast corner of the airport campus, near the intersection of East Layton Avenue and I-794.
The airport would like to replace a cluster of older hangars with a new, modern hangar complex capable of supporting larger private jets for business travel and civilian use.
This part of the airport is already dedicated to non-commercial air travel, with users like Rite-Hite already occupying a hangar in this area. Airport leadership is hoping to attract more users like that.
"More and more business users are going to a larger-sized aircraft than what the hangars around the airfield can support," airport director Brian Dranzik told BizTimes in January. "...I think it’s hopefully a benefit for the business community because of how easy it is to get from downtown to that area. You can be from downtown to your aircraft in 10 or 15 minutes. You can be wheels up in 20, 25, 30 minutes from being in the downtown area. So, I think there’s some potential there."
Concept plans in the RFQ envision more than two dozen new hangars with improved taxiways and access to the runways.
The airport will use the RFQ to qualify up to five firms to participate in a request for proposals to select a final developer or development team, according to county documents.
As the airport moves forward toward eventual construction, it is not renewing leases on antiquated buildings slated for removal, the RFQ says. Other tenants are being given month-to-month leases with the option to eventually become tenants of the new, modern facilities the airport is planning.
The airport anticipates the new hangar complex development to be done under a master lease with the county.
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A conceptual plan for the hangar campus. Image from Milwaukee County[/caption]
