A distribution center could be the first tenant at Fishers' Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport in a long-term plan to develop 211 acres of the property.
The Indianapolis Airport Authority has agreed to sell 38 acres of the airfield to Indianapolis-based Scannell Properties for $4.2 million.
The warehouse would be at the southwest corner of the airport, at 96th Street and Masters Road, and would have parking for 210 cars and 78 truck trailers to haul loads from 18 loading docks.
Fishers zoning officials told area residents no shipments for the warehouse will be by air because the airport runways are too short for cargo planes to use.
Scannell is representing an unidentified publicly traded e-commerce company “that specializes in distribution” and wants to build a 310,000-square-foot center that will operate around the clock with as many as 135 workers per shift, according to a site plan submitted to the Fishers Board of Zoning Appeals and IAA board memo.
Though the name of the company has been kept confidential in a non-disclosure agreement, Scannell handles industrial properties for several large corporations, including Amazon, FedEx and General Mills.
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Representatives of Scannell did not respond to request for comment.
Though the airport board approved the sale in December, it is uncertain if it has been finalized. Commercial land sales are often conditioned on getting development plans approved by municipalities first. Scannell is still seeking zoning changes and utility easements from the city that won’t be considered until an April 19 Fishers City Council meeting.
The plan for the airport
The 445-acre airport serves private aircraft and is on the southern edge of the city, bounded generally by 96th Street to the south 106th Street to the north, Hague Road to the east and Allisonville Road to the west.
About 150 small planes take off and land at the Fishers airport each day, using a single 3,850-foot-long runway. The Indianapolis Airport Authority owns Metropolitan and five smaller airports in the region and gave Fishers permission to sell and develop the land.
The city has been trying to sell 211 acres around the landing strip and aviation hangar since 2014 and hopes to attract corporate headquarters, which could find the airport an enticing perk for executives.
But Mayor Scott Fadness had said previously he would prefer not to have large general warehouses move in, which take up lots of space with relatively few jobs.
Fadness declined an interview request.
Fishers' most recent airport master plan called for a corporate business park with 1 million square feet of office space in 20 low-rise office buildings and some warehouse space.
Hamilton County Commissioner Steve Dillinger, a member of the IAA Board, said he was pleased with the agreement.
“It puts land that that wasn’t being used back on the tax rolls and that will benefit the city,” Dillinger said. “That’s almost unheard of, an airport willing to relinquish property like that.”
Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at [email protected] and follow on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Large distribution plant planned at small airport in Fishers
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