When the Benedum Airport Authority created a “Special Projects Committee” to look at new initiatives at the airport, it’s hard to know whether the group figured so much would be brought to the table so quickly. With a new terminal building in the works, another project that could easily creep into the millions of dollars was proposed last week.

 

The Authority, the governing body of the North Central West Virginia Airport, agreed to a plan to develop a five-acre parcel situated on airport property in an area not accessible by the runway.

 

“A total buildout of some of the things we’d like to do would be several millions of dollars,” said Authority and Special Projects Committee member Andy Lang, who also is Bridgeport’s mayor. “We already own the property and there’s access already available.”

 

The access would come directly off of U.S. Route 50. Land and Authority member David Hinkle talked about applying for an Industrial Access Grant to fund construction of the road that would go off of Route 50 to the site.

 

“The goal is to set the park up with a design, and build a building and try to get it rented and if we do then we move on to the next one,” said Lang.

 

Lang said that having a site ready with access and the necessary infrastructure, which is also available to the location, will help to meet need of potential new businesses or even business expansion.

 

“When an interested party calls they’ll generally give you five to six months to have a structure for them and you can do that in the time frame,” said Lang. “It’s possible only if you have the site ready, the access road and the utilities.”

 

While new business is one goal, the concept sprang based on the needs of existing tenants on the airport complex. Lang and Hinkle met with companies at the airport and one of the needs that frequently came up was for storage buildings and warehouse space. From there, the parcel that was brought to the Authority was identified as an ideal location where this need could be met.

 

“We’ve been discussing the needs of some of the businesses on the airport property with the feedback being consistent. One of the things we kept hearing is need for storage, for warehouse type space,” he said. “Thrasher (the airport's engineering consultant) looked at five acres we own over the hill and we think that would be a good place to begin. We're calling it a ‘logistics park.’”

 

What will that include? Hinkle said a total number of square footage in multiple building could be in the 70,000 range.

 

Authority President Ron Watson, who has served on the board for years, was very much aware of the property in question. He called the area "prime" and that it's an area he has been hopeful a use could be developed, which now appears to be the case.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Authority member David Hinkle looking at a conceptual drawing of the "Logistics Park" by The Thrasher Group. Bottom photo is of fellow Authority member Andy Lang explaining the concept at the May 16 meeting.