Wichita Airport Needs Land to Expand
For Col. James Jabara Airport to develop over the long term, it must acquire more land, airport officials say. Efforts to buy additional land in the past met with little response from landowners. But airport officials say it's time to try again.
"If we really want this airport to develop over the next 20 years or so, we really need to start the ball rolling," director of airports Victor White said.
Current projects proposed for the airport mean it is going to get full, White said Tuesday.
The airport is in negotiations with four companies that want to build hangars at Jabara, he said. A technical training center also is proposed for the site.
With the interest, "It's time to start looking at getting that property on the east side," White said.
Past inquiries to landowners directly east of the 812-acre airport received little response. If owners don't want to sell, the airport authority could buy the land through use of eminent domain, White said. He said officials would much prefer to buy from a willing seller.
More land is essential for long-term economic development efforts in recruiting aircraft companies to Wichita, White said. Many aviation companies need runway access. Recruiting those companies takes time.
A long-term master plan completed last year calls for the addition of 7.5 acres to the north of the runway to protect runway clearances, White said.
It also calls for the purchase of five parcels of land totaling 73 acres east of the runway for expansion efforts. But airport advisory board members said Monday that the airport should buy more land than the master plan suggests.
It should buy land east of Jabara to Greenwich Road, members said. That's about 242 acres in all, White said.
"We've got a significant investment in that airport," board member Dwight Greenlee said at Monday's meeting. "We should be thinking about more than just that little area" in the original plan.
The next step is for the city's property management division to start the appraisal process, White said. It's not known how much the land would cost.
The airport is in discussions with four aviation-related corporations wanting to build as many as six hangars over the next year or so, White said. It's close to finalizing the site plans and lease negotiations with three of the four companies, he said.
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