The Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport is seeing green over a plan to increase revenue and help lower airplane emissions.
It's marketing a 350-acre plot of land in phases, south of the terminal and next to CVG's longest runway, which would serve as a maintenance "ecosystem."
The "green" part is because empty cargo and passenger planes wouldn't have to be flown to other airports for service. They could stay right here and that would reduce emissions.
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"If we can take care of the lifecycle of an aircraft here at CVG, then there's no reason for an airline or an operator to go to another airport to get maintenance done," says airport spokesperson Mindy Kershner. "They can kind of get it all done here."
The area is called "Hangar Row," and Kershner says this is an opportunity to develop land in a prime spot that's connected to CVG's taxiways and longest runway.
But before any of this can happen, the airport must convince businesses to lease the land. That's the job of Rich Elwell, director of CVG's commercial management.
"When we start showing people what this region can offer, their jaw drops," he says. "They just don't realize what this region has."
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Elwell says whether it's avionics, an engine change, gear changes or something else, keeping that airplane here will be good for airlines, operators and the economy. They are high-paying jobs.
FEAM Aero already has a big presence at CVG. It's building its second hangar here. The airport is consulting the Miami-based business about which companies it should lure to Hangar Row.
"FEAM is fantastic," Elwell says, "but they don't do everything. So, when we ask them who could compliment their business, we kind of start there. And then we try to look for companies that are a composite. Who does composite? Who does engines really well? Who does avionics really well? And then we start to focus our list and we think we’re going to talk to these types of companies."
He also wants to talk to supporting businesses like mom-and-pop restaurants, dry cleaners and child care businesses.
Elwell knows building out the 350-acres won't be easy. The economy plays a role. "These are big ticket items. These hangars are high 10s to low one-hundreds of millions of dollars," he says. "I mean, the earthwork involved alone to get the site ready, that these are big dollar items. So, that's why you have to make sure we're picking the right people that have the wherewithal to do it and the desire. But we also have a great track record at CVG because we can show, look at what Amazon has done. Look at what DHL has done."
Just last month, DHL announced an expansion at CVG, one of its global superhubs. The $192 million investment will include the development of a new 305,200-square foot aircraft maintenance facility on a 50-acre site.
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The project also includes the addition of eight new aircraft gates at its current ramp to support CVG hub operations and repurpose the existing aviation and line maintenance space in Building 3. A news release says the project will boost the company's total Kentucky employment to over 3,800.
The timeline for Hangar Row is five to 10 years.
