PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — In addition to transitioning to a new jet carrier service, the Northern Maine Regional Airport hopes to soon begin construction on a new hangar that will house five privately owned single-engine airplanes.
Airport Director Scott Wardwell said that aircraft owners have expressed a desire for private hangar space since 1997 and that the goal of constructing such a building has been documented in the airport’s master plan as far back as 2000. But the project has never gotten off the ground until now because the airport needed to find at least five aircraft owners to sign a five-year lease and commit to a monthly rental agreement.
To finance the hangar space the airport received a $280,000 grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission — a federal and state partnership for economic and community development in northern Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Additionally, the airport obtained a $108,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and a $270,000 loan from the Presque Isle Development Fund, which was recently approved by city councilors.
The hangar space will be funded “self sufficiently” through the airplane owners’ monthly rent and will not rely on taxpayer money, according to Wardwell.
“The airplane owners are lawyers, doctors and business people who use aircraft to expand their customer base,” he said. “Having a hangar space in this region could also attract physicians who have their pilot’s license and prefer to fly to various parts of the state and New England where trainings and conferences are held.”
The 210-foot long building will be located next to the airport’s general aviation terminal and include five spaces, each 42-feet long, to house small, single-engine airplanes. Wardwell expects construction to begin this summer, but that work could be delayed until next year if the airport does not receive enough project bids from construction companies.
All airplanes stored in the hangar will be for private ownership and use and will not be affiliated with passenger jet services provided by United Airlines beginning on July 1. The space also will include a small parking lot for the aircraft owners and a taxiway that was funded as part of the FAA grant.
