Yeager to Get $3.27M from American Rescue Plan; Considers Eight-acre Development

Yeager Airport has been allocated $3.27 million from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed into law on March 11, according to Nick Keller, director and CEO of the Charleston airport.

The funding, expected to arrive within the next 60 days, may be used until Dec. 31, 2024, to help the airport cover operation and maintenance costs, to plan and begin capital improvements and to retain staff while waiting for passenger numbers to rebound to pre-COVID numbers.

The $3.27 million grant comes on the heels of a $2.08 million Airport Coronavirus Response grant received by Yeager last month. That was part of a $2 billion COVID-19 relief package for airports and airport vendors approved by Congress in December.

"This lets us keep making improvements to the airport so that we will be in a position to attract more flights and passengers and continue to grow," once the effects of COVID-19 on business and vacation travel end, Keller said.

Keller announced the pending receipt of the American Rescue Plan grant on Wednesday during a meeting of Yeager's governing board.

Among other topics discussed at the meeting was an analysis of the best development possibilities for Yeager's last 8 acres of unused land at or near runway grade, most of which adjoins the airport's general aviation area.

For an initial construction phase, representatives from Landrum & Brown Inc., the Cincinnati aviation consulting firm that performed the analysis, recommended building a pair of box hangars and a high-end general aviation terminal and hangar. Those buildings would take shape between the new Marshall University aviation school and the Air National Guard's 130th Airlift Wing perimeter.

The new general aviation terminal/hangar would be equipped with three to four private suites on an upper level. Showers, restrooms, a kitchen, break room, lobby and office space would be on the ground level. It would cater to corporate clients based in Charleston, and higher-end fractional owners of private jets. It would not replace the existing Capital Jet Service general aviation terminal.

Development proposed by Landrum & Brown ultimately would include five box hangars and two 10,000-square-foot storage hangars. The apron fronting the new buildings would provide additional parking space for military aircraft.

The airport has no immediate plans to authorize any new construction in the 8-acre tract.

The airport board voted to authorize the creation of six intern positions at Yeager for students enrolled in MU's aviation school, scheduled to open this fall, and to buy a $58,000 X-ray scanner for use in the new U.S. Customs and Border Patrol building now under construction next to the Capital Jet Service terminal.

The airport board did not discuss a proposed name change for Yeager to reflect its West Virginia location. The name change was discussed during a recent meeting of the airport's marketing committee.

Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail

.com, 304-348-5169 or follow

@rsteelhammer on Twitter.

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