Kerrville Airport to Break Ground on T-hangars in January

Oct. 1, 2013
Kerrville hangars to be erected in a different location than originally proposed

Oct. 01--A federally funded project to build 12 new T-hangars at the Kerrville airport in the hopes of bringing in new revenue for the city-county owned facility could break ground as early as January, according to Airport Manager Bruce McKenzie.

The Kerrville-Kerr County Joint Airport Board met last week with Texas Department of Transportation engineers and representatives from the city's public work's department and the county's road and bridge department to hammer out details of the project. According to McKenzie, the biggest thing to come out of the four-hour meetings was a final decision on the location of the hangars.

In previous discussions, the idea had been to put the hangars next to the existing T-hangars, but a decision was made to move the proposed T-hangar site closer to the airport terminal adjacent to an existing building.

"The board chose to change the location because the site they had originally chosen did not meet the criteria by the FAA," McKenzie said.

Federal rules would required

79 feet of clearance between buildings for the new T-hangars.

Because of existing buildings, the location for the new T-hangar was 10 feet short of the FAA regulations, McKenzie said.

He added that the airport could apply for a deviation of standards from the FAA and possibly still build at the site, but that the decision was to continue with the plan at a new location.

"That (applying) could take months, and we're ready to build," McKenzie said.

He said the airport would likely still apply for the deviation to use in the future.

At the new site, McKenzie said he expects they will be able to construct 12 T-hangars as the board has hoped.

T-hangars are individual airplane hangars leased to private plane owners. The airport currently leases 16 T-hangars for $250 per month and has a waiting list of 30 people interested in renting one. Airport board members believe they will be able to lease

12 T-hangars generating additional revenue for the airport.

The T-hangar project is being funded largely through federal funds set aside for local aviation projects through the Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Division. If approved, those funds will pay up to $650,000.

The local airport board worked out a deal with TxDOT aviation for a design-build project that will allow the city and the county to contribute in-kind services for the construction, specifically site work and paving.

If work begins in January as McKenzie expects, he said the hangars should be ready to occupy by July.

Copyright 2013 - Kerrville Daily Times, Texas