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November 30, 2003 Casper Star Tribune – Wyoming
Supporters Hope Renovated Ogden-Hinckley Executive Airport Boosts Economy OGDEN, Utah (AP) - The Ogden-Hinckley Airport is undergoing a major overhaul, with the project's new terminal and two large hangar bays for corporate jets nearly completed. The 80,000-square-foot facility is adjacent to a $12 million, 30-acre executive park now under construction that could attract hundreds or even thousands of high-paying jobs to Weber County, say the airport's business and government supporters. ''It's a superior aerospace building to anything ever built in Utah,'' said Bryce Gibby, marketing director for Kemp Development, Inc., the developer on the Skypark project. Several other buildings, including a 100-bed hotel, a four-star restaurant and additional hangar facilities will soon be completed. They could help make Ogden-Hinckley stand out to potential corporate residents, Gibby said. ''Regional and corporate jet travel is the highway for Fortune 500 companies into our community,'' he said. ''This is the first impression of Ogden they will get, so when executives come in on a $40 million jet and are considering moving their company to Ogden, we want them to feel like it's the type of community they can bring their business to.'' Business facilities planned for the project include more corporate and regional jet storage space, facilities for overhaul and maintenance of jets, paint and interior services and completion and modification centers for upgrading existing aircraft or finishing new ones. The Ogden aviation and aerospace businesses got a boost when lawmakers earlier this year passed a bill that allows partial rebates of state revenue to companies that locate and contribute to economic growth near airports. Utah has been unable to compete with other states because until now it lacked an attractive incentive package for larger companies, Mark Renda, director of incentive funds for the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development said. ''We've been able to compete in offering incentives of up to several million through the Industrial Assistance Fund, but needed a tool that could bring large-scale projects that might exceed that amount,'' he said. ''This is a tool that could clearly be used at Ogden-Hinckley field in developing large-scale projects that create high-paying jobs and require significant investment in capital, for which the state might want to offer a larger incentive.'' Gibby said the bill adds substance to the quality-of-life, central western location and other pitches local officials and developers have often relied on to attract business. ''A number'' of companies are ''very close'' to reaching deals to locate at the airport, he said. ''There are still some better incentives back east, but they aren't located ideally to serve the western market,'' he said. ''Now we're taken seriously when we meet with aerospace companies. Now we can discuss the bottom line.'' |