May 14—ALBANY — As workers lay concrete blocks this week, the outline of a massive structure continued to take shape at Southwest Georgia Regional Airport, a project that represents the latest in upgrades at the busy airport.
The hangar facility represents a $10 million investment for the city of Albany, which operates the airport.
Did we mention the building is massive?
"With four hangars, we're talking about 1 1/2 football fields," Shaun Cookson, superintendent of operations for the city's Transportation Department, said. "Each of the hangars has office space and restrooms. We're kind of glad to help out the aviation community out here."
Funding for the project comes from part of $18 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act money Albany received during the pandemic, Cookson said.
"We just happened to get some grant money from the COVID act and had a good opportunity to help out the community," he said. "It was something that had been on the wish list for a while, but without a funding source available. This should be a project that should last for at least 40 years, so it should be a good long-term investment."
The types of planes that will call the facility home are those up to the $20 million to $30 million range, private planes that make up general aviation traffic, that currently have to sit outside while parked at Southwest Georgia Regional.
The hangars will cater largely to quail hunters, and the airport plays host to the rich and famous from all over the country who journey to southwest Georgia each year to hunt.
"In total, we have over 30,000 flight operations every year," Cookson said. "About 80 percent of those are general aviation flights. Quail hunting is probably one of the biggest draws for general aviation."
Quail hunting is big business in southwest Georgia, with an economic impact of $38 million annually in Dougherty County and $125 million for the region as a whole, according to a 2013 study conducted by the Tall Timbers Research & Land Conservancy Group based in Tallahassee, Fla. Quail plantations accounted for nearly 900 full-time jobs and an additional 377 jobs indirectly tied to quail hunting.
The airport supports 614 jobs generates an annual economic impact of nearly $63 million and a payroll of $20 million, according to a Georgia Department of Transportation report.
With participation by disadvantaged businesses on the project coming in at 20 percent, it is nearly double the 10.5 percent required by the federal government, Cookson said. And with the construction of the hangars and amenities that will be offered, there is the opportunity that some of the planes based at other airports will move their operations to Albany, said Jana Dyke, president and CEO of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission.
"From an economic standpoint and the tax base, any of those planes that make it their home base will increase our tax base for those planes that are based here," she said. "It'll be a nice welcome to people who are coming in. Having something that's going to be on the cutting edge is going to be really nice for our community."
The Georgia Quail Invitational and Georgia Chamber of Commerce Quail Hunt are annual events that bring guests and boost the economy, said Rashelle Minix, executive director of the Albany Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"Quail hunting is a season," she said. "It is usually during our (fall and winter) down season, so that is also a benefit."
And beginning July 1, Dougherty County will begin levying an 8% hotel/motel tax that will include hunting plantation lodging. A portion of that money will go toward boosting tourism.
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