Hangar to Replace Vacant Car Wash at McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport

Oct. 23—A vacant car wash on Demere Road is slated to be torn down and replaced with a hangar.

The structure was built in 2017 to serve as both a car and airplane wash at the McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport, but the airplane part never took off, said Glynn County Airport Commission Executive Director Robert Burr. The hangar will be used to store and service airplanes, he said.

The airport commission approved a lease agreement with 3809 Kilo, LLC, during a meeting on Tuesday morning. Burr said the company is run by the same people who own Golden Isles Aviation.

"It will definitely be able to improve the appearance of Demere," Burr said.

Any fixed-base operators who want to do business on airport property have to meet certain Federal Aviation Administration standards, Burr said. The car and airplane wash did meet those standards initially. The airplane wash did not last, however, and the airport commission could not renew the owner's lease on the property.

"That's why it closed, in case anyone is still wondering," Burr said.

Construction and demolition will likely cost $500,000 or more, and the airport commission agreed to let the developer use the cost of demolishing the old car wash against the rent.

Terra Winslett, property and marketing manager for the airport commission, said she didn't foresee the project getting off the ground until next year.

The airport commission also discussed Delta Air Lines' return to offering three flights a day between Brunswick and Atlanta.

Before the outbreak, Delta announced it would be adding a fourth flight between Brunswick and Atlanta to the daily schedule, this one with a larger plane. The pandemic derailed those plans, and in April through July, the commercial airline reduced service to one daily flight. Delta began offering a second flight in early July.

Delta has scheduled three daily flights through November, but Burr said the company has made no commitments beyond that.

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