June 25--Boeing is planning a $28 million expansion of a maintenance hangar at Port San Antonio, officials confirmed Monday.
"We are going to be expanding the hangar to accommodate some planned growth there at the site, which is exciting," Boeing spokeswoman Lori Moore said. "They're going to make room for more aircraft and then they're going to add some office personnel to it."
However, she said she couldn't reveal specifics because of "an agreement with the customer."
Filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation show the expansion is for the Chicago-based company's Aircraft Maintenance Facility at 400 Airlift Drive. TDLR spokeswoman Susan Stanford said the project was registered with the state on Friday, and is pending a plan review.
The filing shows the design firm is Reynolds Smith & Hills Inc., a Jacksonville, Fla.-based company with an office in San Antonio.
The project involves a two-story, 36,400-square-foot office addition to the 141,630-square-foot hangar, as well as a 43,222-square-foot hangar expansion at each end.
The project's estimated start date is Monday. The work is expected to be complete by April 1, 2014.
Moore said she didn't know if the expansion would mean more jobs at Boeing's operation at the port. The aerospace giant employs about 5,300 in Texas.
"We have a skilled workforce down there," she said. "They're very versatile, so I don't know if it would increase jobs or it would just be more work for existing people there."
The San Antonio site got a boost in April when United Airlines began sending its fleet of six Boeing 787 Dreamliners there for battery modifications and other fixes. The facility already had a contract for engineering changes and refurbishment on five new Dreamliners.
Airline industry analysts said the work could be a sign San Antonio is regaining its reputation as a hub for aircraft maintenance.
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