The
Clinton County Port Authority (CCPA) and
Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services (AMES) have announced plans to move forward on financing and construction of a new $15.4 million hangar facility at the
Wilmington Air Park.
“As designed, the hangar will be capable of housing up to 767 and 777 class aircraft,” explains Kevin Carver, Executive Director of the CCPA, adding the hangar will be approximately 100,000 square feet once completed.
Carver points to
JobsOhio and the
Ohio Development Services Agency as vital partners in financing the project. “The total financing package from Ohio for this project was approximately $14.6 million,” he says. “In addition, the state’s willingness to be flexible with the terms of the Ohio Enterprise Bond and the 166 Low Interest Loan were essential in being able to complete this deal.”
The new project gives the small southwest Ohio town of 12,000 hope of economic recovery. On November 10, 2008, DHL announced that their Wilmington hub would be closed as they discontinued shipping operations in the United States. 8,000 employees lost their job, including 3,000 residents of Wilmington or Clinton County.
“The loss of DHL affected not only Wilmington, but a significant portion of southwest Ohio,” notes Carver. “At its peak, DHL was the single largest single site employer in a five county area of southwest Ohio.” The new hangar facility will create 259 new jobs.
“While the 259 jobs that will be created with this new hangar do not make up for the 8,000 or so jobs that were lost in the DHL closure, it is a very welcome addition to the community,” reflects Carver. “And it is a healthy start in the continuing effort to rebuild after the departure of DHL.”
Source: Kevin Carver
Writer: Joe Baur