With the construction of a new $3 million building, students in ASU's flight school will soon see a long-awaited addition to their facilities.
The ASU Polytechnic campus is partnering with its neighbor, Williams Gateway Airport, to build a new 21,000 square-foot hangar. This will bring some of ASU's aircraft into a new home, protecting them from the elements they are exposed to in their current outdoor facility.
But only about 12 to 15 of the University's 17 aircraft will fit in the new hangar, said Christine Lambrakis, Polytechnic spokeswoman.
"In case of a monsoon or a wind storm or other weather disturbance that required them to be sheltered, the airport would allow us to move them into another facility that would protect them," Lambrakis said.
According to Williams Gateway Spokesman Brian Sexton, the airport will cover the hangar's construction costs and lease the facility to ASU for $250,000 annually over 15 years. ASU retains six options for five-year renewals of the lease after the 15 years expire.
ASU does not own the 17 aircraft it operates at the Williams Gateway Airport, but has access to them through a partnership with Mesa Pilot Development, Lambrakis said. MPD is a division of Mesa Air Group, which operates one of the nation's largest regional airlines.
ASU currently has about 147 students in its professional flight program, according to the Polytechnic Web site.
Sexton said an informal understanding between the University and the airport had been in place since the early 1990s, but that formal negotiations over the hangar's construction didn't actually begin until about a year ago, when water, sewer and other infrastructure improvements were completed.
"It's always been considered that ASU would one day have a hangar at the airport, at least from the airport's perspective," Sexton said.
Sexton said ASU and Williams Gateway are both stakeholders in the former Williams Air Force Base and are working to redevelop the airport.
"We focus on bringing new businesses and new clients into the area to work together and promote each other," Sexton said.
ASU benefits from the airport partnership because the school has easy access to an expansive airport for its flight and aeronautic technology programs.
The airport benefits because it uses ASU Polytechnic as a marketing tool.
"Many employers are looking for a well-educated job base," Sexton said. "It's not that often you find a world renowned university in close proximity to an airport. So we see this as a real opportunity to bring in new [industries]."
Reach the reporter at jonathan.cooper@asu.edu.
