The Union County Airport is set to receive federal money that will go toward a hangar expansion project on the grounds.
A press release from Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office said Tuesday that the airport will receive $90,209 from the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program.
The AIP airport grant program gives money to airport infrastructure for projects such as runways, taxiways, airport signage, airport lighting, and airport markings.
“It’s good to hear this come though,” said airport board president Philip LaPonte. ”It’s part of our ongoing project to build 15 more T-hangars.”
The T-shaped hangars, of which the airport has a few dozen, are specifically for small, often private aircraft storage as opposed to the larger box hangars that house more planes together.
The county’s facility also has a heated, single volume hangar and separate repair facility.
LaPonte said the need for space comes from an increase in requests to house planes at the airport.
“We currently have 30 pilots that have paid deposits on hangars,” LaPonte said. “I think that comes from just the growth in the area and an interest in general aviation overall. We saw, during the pandemic, an increased interest in general aviation.”
Over the last three years, he added, that has come in waves of 10-12 requests per year.
The airport functions as a public use airport and its runway is not wide enough to support larger, corporate planes, though LaPonte said it can and does accommodate planes for the Scotts company.
According to its website, the airport “provides a 4,218’X75’ hard surface runway suitably oriented east and west with GPS approaches to runways 9 and 27. Airport surfaces, facilities and airspace are protected by aviation zoning and recorded easements and compatible land use zoning.”
The airport’s primary business comes from those who store aircraft on the property and use fuel for flights, so the addition of the new hangar will definitely assist with the facility’s primary function, LaPonte said. This will give space to those looking to come to Union County, he added.
According to the FAA’s website, “airports are entitled to a certain amount of AIP funding each year, based on passenger volume. If their capital project needs exceed their available entitlement funds, then the FAA can supplement their entitlements with discretionary funding.”
La Ponte said the board is able to try for up to $150,000 in funding assistance each year and will continue to apply for those funds as planning for the hangar project continues.
Union County is one of several airports to receive the funding since the 2023 announcements were made in mid-March.
The $90,000 from the AIP grant this time around will go to the design portion of the hangar project only, he added.
“We’re working with Woolpert, they’re an engineering consulting company, to help with the design. Once it’s designed, then it will go to bid,” he said.
Designing the hangars is one step in the larger expansion project, which will total $1.65 million. The new hangars will essentially add a fifth row of hangars to the airport grounds.
The hope, LaPonte said is to get at least half the money for building – nearly $700,000 – in grant funds and work with the county to finance the other half.
He said the airport should also be receiving state money from the Ohio Department of Transportation to help with rehabilitation of the turf runway, which runs alongside the asphalt runway.
“We’re working with Woolpert for both of those projects,” said LaPonte. “The hope is to be working on them next year and finish by the end of the year.”