I just received a quote for a 60x60 hangar sliding door for $260k. Higher than I’d hoped. Lower than I’d feared.

Hey Brock, which airport? And was this a price for a completed building (foundation, utilities, etc), or for just the structure?

KDNA. For complete building. Nothing fancy. But doesn’t include any ground lease.

Yes at MQY. Nashville has become so busy that I guess the contractors just don't need the work. When I started I was given a expectation of a about $150/sqft all in. I sent plans out to 10 builders who have hangar experience and only received 3 bids. $1.8M avg for 5700sqft hangar or about $315/sqft. Stunned!

Tried some value engineering but can only get down to about $250/sqft. This is for a plain metal box with a 18ft HP door, small office and bathroom. HVAC in office, heat in hangar.

I had to cancel all bids until either I have more money to throw down the aviation pit or prices come down.

Wow Cory, that's quite the price hike. Sorry that was your experience, how recently was that and have you followed up lately? I'm fighting some of the same trends here in Savannah, we're in the middle of a local boom with all of the growth at our nearby container port and airport, it's hard to find interested GC's.

I'm heading up a small 6-unit T-hangar co-op, no frills, about 8,000sf with a small finished corner office/restroom with HVAC. We're hoping to come in under $100/sf via a smaller and more standardized structure, hopefully it's doable.

What is your airport identifier?

What is your airport identifier?

KILM? I thought that was his last name and he owned a lumber yard.

It had been nearly 14 years since I visited and flew and what was Savannah Aviation in their 182. That was when Steve still owned it but had sold off fueling operations. I remember how hard it was for him to get the T-Hangars built in 1999 but was glad they did! It sure has changed a lot, has had a ton of development, and the growth was insane. What had been a 20 minute drive around the airport was now nearly 50.

I understand your fear!! My goodness, that seems outrageous! A friend of mine just built a nice 70x70 w/ a Schwiess bi-fold door, several other walk-thru doors, a garage door, insulation, lighting and concrete pads outside for $170K. This is @ Bridgeport, TX (KXBP). It's already too small, so he's adding on the end now to put a shop and office area. Don't know what that'll come in at yet. It is a little less expensive per sq. foot the larger you go, but $260K for a basic 60x60 seems ludicrous. You must be in a highly desirable location. I'd give it a year and prices might come down a bit. Q1 '23 Recession, or some softer semblance thereof, looking highly likely. ~ ME

In April, I received a proposal for a 55x60 hangar at a newly developed grass strip conversion in Salado, TX (2TX), a rural airport. The bid was $241k, which I think excluded the hangar door.

Here is the cost breakdown:

Building 55x60x18: $80,190
(includes reinforcement for future mezzanine 20x55)
Erection: $49,500
Slab: $37,950
R30 Roof Insulation: $18,183
Transluscent panels (6 3x10): $1,800
Man door: $4,725
200 Amp Panel: $17,500
Waste & Water Connection: $15,500
Apron Asphalt (20x55): $4,125
Contractor Fee: $11,473

Assuming there wasn't a lot of wiring beyond the panel, $17k seems awfully high, but if there are 20 or more circuits, that's more reasonable. But how in the world does a man door cost almost $5000?

Hardly any wiring. Lights, a few outlets, a fan.

When I drive around the area (central Texas), I see tons of steel buildings going up for businesses to support a fast growing metro. Perhaps supply of contractors and labor significantly exceeds demand.

On the subject of airports...

"City of Hannibal looks to sell regional airport"
https://www.wgem.com/2022/12/07/city-ha ... logy-park/



Perhaps I am reading that out of context but when you hear a non-airport person, in this case the local Economic Development Director, saying something along those lines it makes you raise an eyebrow.

Thought I'd share a little more on the journey we've been on at KSAV.

In light of all of the pressure on our market with the growth in the area, a group of us got together to ask AOPA for advice on how to best deal with our problems. AOPA's advice was to start a local pilot group that can interface directly with our airport sponsor, and follow AOPA's playbook, as AOPA isn't set up to do direct advocacy at a local level with every airport in the system.

In our case, the airport sponsor is a city-appointed commission. As we started working with the commission, they agreed that it would be great to have a better channel of communication between the local pilot/owner group and the commission, as that kind of thing had been in place before but had sort of waned over the years. In our case, local GA is just one among many priorities alongside a thriving and expanding airline terminal, a large OEM, Military, an expanding air-freight footprint, and 2 national chain FBO's, so without representation or a developed relationship with the GA community, decisions just get made by those larger interests without our input.

While we are a little late to the party, as agreements and developments are already underway that will reduce the available hangar capacity at our airport in the near term, we've had a number of positive developments over the past 6mo that we've been developing our organization, and the airport commission is beginning to view local GA access for base tenants as a priority. We're hoping that in the coming year we can continue to build that relationship and increase their understanding of the needs of base tenants at KSAV and start speaking the same language.

If you're at a similar airport that is thriving in all other aspects except for GA like Savannah is, I highly recommend getting organized and carving out some time to meet with your local airport leadership, attend their business meetings, and patiently explain your needs as you develop the relationship.

I've attached our newsletters up to this point as an example.