"Texas airport owner optimistic about facility"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Airport owner optimistic about facility
Construction of center marks project milestone
By HELEN ERIKSEN
The Houston (TX) Chronicle


Houston Executive Airport, located between Katy and Brookshire in Waller
County, is moving forward with expansion plans that officials hope will
entice more clients.

The airport, at 1900 Cardiff Lane north of Interstate 10 and west of FM
2855, recently broke ground on a 48,000-square-foot business service center
that is projected to open in 2008.

Tribble & Stephens Constructors of Houston will build the facility named
Henriksen Jet Center after the airport's owner Ron Henriksen.

Designed by Hill Myers Architects, the two-story structure will feature a
26,000-square-foot hangar to store large planes and small jets, a passenger
lobby, pilot lounge and a weather-briefing room.

As the airport develops, officials project it will become competitive with
facilities such as Sugar Land Regional Airport and will attract customers
corporations from the growing west Houston energy corridor.

Global companies such as BP America, Shell and ConocoPhillips have announced
plans to expand facilities in the corridor.

Lance LaCour, president and chief executive officer of the Katy Area
Economic Development Council, believes the service center and added
amenities will help attract more clients.

The proximity of an airport is often an important factor in site selection
decisions, he said, adding that light industrial development is under way
near the airport.

Built on a 1,980-acre grassy tract formerly known as Air Rice, the airport
provides fuel and other services for flight schools, pilots and general
aviation customers.

The airport's first phase is built on 190 acres. Plans call for installing
instrument-approach equipment in the fall. A hangar is being built to hold
small aircraft. In December, Chevron Global Aviation signed on as the
airport's fuel supplier.

The airport opened in January with plans to extend the 5,050-foot runway to
7,600 feet in five years.

Henriksen, Houston businessman and the airport's sole owner, said the only
thing he would change about development is hangar construction.

"I would probably start construction on the hangars a lot sooner because
there is a hangar shortage in the Houston area, and demand for them has been
high," he said.

Andrew Perry, executive director, said the airport is seeing a growing
number of business and general aviation clients, and the groundbreaking
represents a milestone in constructing another project phase.

Perry said average daily operations are up to about 40 to 50 weekdays, while
increasing to 60 to 80 operations on weekends when the weather is nice.

Fuel sales have also increased since the airport opened, Perry said. Exact
amounts were unavailable.

Robert Cunningham, a local flight instructor, finds the new airport
convenient for his clients. His business is based at Hooks Airport in the
Tomball area, but he takes his students north of Houston Executive to
practice takeoffs, landings and flight maneuvers, he said.

"Before the airport opened, there was nothing available out here,"
Cunningham said. "It's a nice airport with good fuel prices where I can also
practice emergency procedures because of the openness of the area."

Henriksen has touted the airport for its proximity to I-10, U.S. 90, the
Westpark Toll Road and a Union Pacific rail line.

"We chose this close-in location along one of Houston's busiest freeways to
make it easy for travelers to get to important destinations from the energy
corridor to downtown," he said.

Henriksen, who previously sought to build the airport on 575 acres in the
Fulshear area in Fort Bend County, said this location is better suited for
expansion.

For information, check the Web site, www.houstonexecutiveairport.com

   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php

*****************************************