Glendale Airport receives $ 19 million from FAA – Glendale Star

The Glendale Regional Airport will receive $ 19 million in the Federal Aviation Administration for grants to expand and improve the capabilities of the facility.

With this investment, the city will strive to enter the commercial flying industry, for which city manager Kevin Phelps said it would be a powerful economic driver for the future of the city.

“It is obvious that the whole West is raining, including Glendale, has observed a significant growth in the big corporate presence with regard to major projects here in the Western Valley,” Phelps said. “From everything, from the incredibly huge TSMC at the northern end of you know, only in some of the big projects that are happening in Goodyear and Buckeye, I would say that the landscape has changed in terms of the number of corporate travelers coming to the West Valley.

“So, all the indications of the consultants we have talked about is that this is a very realistic strategy and the one we must be able to act.”

Over the last two years, the city has been exploring ways to use an asset airport with a larger volume, focusing on corporate activation due to the overpopulation of other airports in the Valley-predictor Airport in Scottsdale. Through the money for grants, Glendale Airport will be able to take advantage of its recently acquired 134 acres of development land, which allows “wide open canvas” to begin construction for corporate jets.

“We think this is a huge advantage for us,” Phelps said. “We see more and more international investment in the valley – in the area of ​​the Grand Phoenix – and the planes coming for it, they will obviously need a larger space.”

In connection with the search, the incoming VAI Resort is something that Phelps thinks will even further the need for access to the airport to Glendale.

“We will soon open ourselves, next year a $ 1.2 billion resort, which we believe will attract wealthy visitors from all over the country and even outside the country,” he said. “We think you have a modern regional airport that can hold the corporate plane and the people who move in the look of a business, we think it is a huge advantage for the resort.”

With this investment, Phelps said that the surrounding cities in Glendale would benefit from having an airport to attract commercial aircraft.

“Not only Glendale will be useful, but also for the city of Peoria and our other cities of the Western Valley,” he said. “So, I think this puts us on the corporation card that invest in our cities in basic ways, and we see literally billions of dollars corporate investment in the Western Valley. This gives them a really good alternative help to fly to the West Valley and usually where these plans are a residence.

“I think it will borrow to additional corporate offices or subcomponents of the main element to fit very well there. And so we really see this as an unused asset for the entire Western Valley. “

With the orientation of the airport, Phelps confirmed that there would be no need for public concern about the noise complaints and that the planes “do not fly over residential neighborhoods or areas where (noise) would lead to influence”.

“We are incredibly grateful; FAA is a great partner, “Phelps added. “I think we want to say that we evaluate the investment in infrastructure. This is really what makes the great communities, great countries, is really their ability to have good infrastructure. We believe that this will really ensure the necessary expansion of opportunities, at the same time it will not affect our other airports that are in the area.

“So this is not a winner and a loser (situation). It’s just that we can make sure that we can continue the growth of corporate trips here in Arizona. ”