By Akanimo Sampson
Construction work has kicked-off at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Executive Airpark which will be available for occupancy by the last quarter of this year.
The facility will consist of a three-hangar development of more than 185,500 square feet at the airport.
Former Williams Air Force Base played a strategic role in America’s aviation history. Over a span of 52 years, more than 26,500 men and women earned their wings at Williams. Gearing up for the combat pilot demands of World War II, the Army Air Corps broke ground in Southeast Mesa, Arizona for its Advanced Flying School on July 16, 1941.
In February 1942, the growing military base’s name was changed to Williams Field to honor Charles Linton Williams, an Arizona-born pilot. The facility was re-designated as Williams Air Force Base (WAFB) in January 1948. WAFB was the U.S. Air Force’s foremost pilot training facility, graduating more student pilots and instructors than any other base in the country and supplying 25 percent of the Air Force’s pilots annually.
The Base was closed in 1993 and officially reopened as Williams Gateway Airport in March 1994. In 2007, the name of the Airport was changed to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
Today, Gateway hosts more than 40 companies, serves more than 45 cities with non-stop service via Allegiant, Avelo Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Swoop, and WestJet, and contributes $1.3 billion annually to the Arizona economy.
Gateway is also developing as an international aerospace center with aircraft maintenance, modification, testing, and pilot training. In addition to the area’s skilled labor force, excellent year-round flying weather, three expansive runways averaging 10,000 feet, and access to international markets,
Gateway’s assets make it a prime location for global-minded companies. Gateway has been designated as Foreign Trade Zone #221, as well as a Military Reuse Zone, offering aviation companies a significant financial edge in the global marketplace.
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority (PMGAA) owns and operates the Airport. PMGAA currently consists of the following:
However, the facility will be state-of-the-art, multi-tenant, and freestanding full-service hangars which are constructed with steel-frame infrastructure, a metal roof, and metal exterior walls.
The steel-frame infrastructure provides clear span bays necessary for aircraft movement. The Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Executive Airpark will also provide office space built to suit tenant’s requirements.
The office spaces will have LED overhead lighting with on/off motion sensors in hangars, hangar doors 28 feet high with widths spanning 90’ feet to 110 feet, and sealed concrete floors.
The unit is being constructed to facilitate the increasing demand trend for the larger long-range business jets.
The dimensions of the hangar bays and hangar doors at Gateway Executive Airpark will accommodate larger jets as well as other aviation uses such as maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations. Advantages of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport location of this project also include lower operating costs and reduced taxes through unique tax programs and incentives.
“The aviation industry has grown about 30% from this quarter last year. The improvement is due to not only safety issues but is reflective of economies opening up as well as travel restrictions being reduced” said the principal and executive vice president at DAUM Commercial, Steve McKendry.
“We are anticipating strong local demand from high-net-worth individuals as well as large corporations. This space could also be attractive to private jet owners and branded charter services based elsewhere, for example, even with the additional travel required, the significantly lower rental rates, and tax incentives.
”This makes holding aircraft at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport approximately 70% less than anywhere in Southern California.” McKendry added.
