"TTF: Direct runway access for private firms coming to Arizona airport"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Friday, April 11, 2008

Direct runway access for private firms coming to airport
By Luci Scott
The Arizona Republic


The first project at Chandler Municipal Airport that would allow businesses
with airplanes on private land direct access to the runway is on the drawing
boards. 

The Chandler Airpark Business Center would cover 23.5 acres on the
northwestern corner of Queen Creek and Cooper roads. 

Plans call for developing 18 lots containing 214,000 square feet of office
or industrial buildings. Aircraft hangars and taxi lanes would be included
in the project, said Dorcey Abshier of San Diego-based DB Abshier
Development Investments. The other developer is DWO Enterprises, also of San
Diego.  

The project would be the first at Chandler's airport with what is called
"through-the-fence" access. Although the development is on private land,
pilots would have direct access to the runways. At the same time the airport
gets more aviation activity without having to buy more land. That activity
means more revenue for the airport for maintenance and upkeep. 

"Everybody wins," said Chandler Airport manager Greg Chenoweth. 

The companies that would be interested in such an arrangement would be, for
example, a corporation that has interests throughout the state. An executive
could attend a board meeting at 10 a.m., be in an airplane by noon, at the
facility by 1 or 2 p.m., return to the board room and then have dinner at
home. 

The same scenario could happen on a smaller scale. An insurance agent who
works claims all over Arizona could have an office at the airport complex. 

If the agent gets a call about a claim in Page, he could be there in an
hour, rather than spend hours driving. 

"Efficiency and economics are usually key elements associated with
aviation," Chenoweth said. 

The developer says the Chandler project has generated interest.

"Chandler Airport is a great alternative to Scottsdale," Abshier said. "Our
objective is to build a project that has a lot of similarities and benefits
Scottsdale has but to offer a product that's less expensive than Scottsdale
Airpark."

Land prices in Scottsdale around the airport exceed $40 a foot, Abshier
said. "We'll certainly be 25 percent less than that."

The Chandler airport is smaller than Scottsdale. Chandler has two runways,
one at 4,850 feet, and the other is 4,400 feet. Scottsdale's runway is 8,249
feet long, which can accommodate larger jets. 

Developers may ask the Chandler City Council for approval of Chandler
Airpark Business Center by late April. 

Construction could begin early next year, and lots could be delivered to
owners by summer 2009, Abshier said. 

Chandler Municipal Airport can accommodate aircraft with a wing span up to
79 feet such as the Gulfstream III, Chenoweth said. Other jets that land
there include the Cessna Citation, the Beechjet 400 and the Falcon 50. 

The benefits for occupants of a through-the-fence project include owning the
property rather than leasing, Chenoweth said. 

"There are obvious financial benefits to owning a property as opposed to
leasing it," Chenoweth said. "Airports can't sell land."

One of the key elements of allowing the pilots direct access through the
fence is addressing financial disparities between those able to build equity
in their own property compared with those at the airport that can't build
that same equity, Chenoweth said. 

"Where we feel we're creating economic parity is ... persons would have to
pay to come through the fence."

A fee schedule is based on the size of the hangar in square footage, the
size of the aircraft and on the fair share of the cost of maintenance of
common areas of the airport. 

Also, if the business owners pump fuel into the aircraft in that area, they
have to pay the same fuel flow fee as anyone on the airport grounds who
pumps fuel. 

The fees help the airport recoup current and future capital costs, Chenoweth
said.


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