Sierra Nevada Corp. to pay Dayton $13M to continue construction at Dayton International Airport
The Dayton Airport is getting $13 million, but that money is not going to fund any new flights. Instead, the money will go toward new construction by the Sierra Nevada Corporation.
The corporation, which has contracts with the armed forces, just had the last step of its lease approved by the Dayton City Commission Wednesday, but the construction of its second aircraft hangar actually began in August. It will set right next to the first hangar, which was completed last November.
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“They do some retrofitting for military aircraft and that’s about all I can say,” Daniel Zenk, Deputy Director of Aviation for the City of Dayton, said.
Zenk didn’t want to be too specific about Sierra Nevada’s operations, but he did say the company has been a great partner with the city since they announced their intention to come to Dayton and build a huge aircraft hangar.
“We have the runway length, so we can receive any size aircraft the military has and now they will have the hangar space,” Zenk said.
The company’s first hangar is 300 feet wide, 300 feet long, and 90 feet high. The second hangar is expected to be the same size.
The first hangar brought about 150 jobs with an annual estimated payroll of $11 million. A second hangar is likely to double those figures, News Center 7′s Mike Campbell reported Wednesday at 5 p.m.
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Sierra Nevada already agreed to pay Dayton $13 million for the ground lease and property Wednesday. That kind of economic boost is key for the Dayton International Airport.
“We have an obligation, not only for the region but to the (Federal Aviation Administration) itself to be a self-sustaining airport and this helps us with that goal,” he said.
The City of Dayton believes that Sierra Nevada may build as many as five hangars on the north side of the airport if their business continues to grow.
