Frederick officials are soliciting proposals from people or companies interested in leasing land to build a new hangar at Frederick Municipal Airport.
The request for proposals seeks responses from “all interested and qualified parties for the purpose of financing, constructing, and operating” the roughly 10,000-square-foot corporate hangar on a vacant plot of land at the airport.
The building could be used to house a large aircraft along with some offices, for a maintenance facility such as an engine repair shop, or for a box hangar to house multiple smaller planes, said Airport Manager Rick Johnson.
“It’s wide open,” he said.
The airport has only a few other standalone hangars, Johnson said. One houses a Maryland State Police aviation facility, and another houses an aerial photography company.
About 200 aircraft are based at the airport, which is used for about 70,000 flights each year, according to information provided in the city’s packet included with the RFP.
The packet highlights Frederick’s place as the second-largest city in Maryland, with 3,400 businesses and 50,000 jobs, and its role as “the hub of culture, commerce, and government for the community.”
It focuses on the city’s proximity to the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore markets, and the airport’s proximity to Interstates 70 and 270.
The city had not received any proposals in response to the RFP, which was released in February, Keisha Brown, purchasing manager for the city, said in an email.
Johnson added that the hangar would create additional revenue at the airport.More aircraft housed at the airport would mean more jobs and economic impact from the airport, said Richard Griffin, economic development director for the city of Frederick.
And increased traffic at the airport could have a widespread economic impact on the city’s shops, hotels and restaurants, as well as pilots and companies paying for fuel and maintenance, he said.
According to a 2013 report prepared for the Maryland Aviation Administration, the airport generated more than $110 million in business revenue, the second highest in the state after Baltimore County’s Martin State Airport.
Under the RFP, the winning proposal will be able to use the leased facility to store and maintain its own aircraft and related supplies, or for office space related to the aircraft’s operations.
The lessee may also sublet the hangar to a third party, if they’re given written permission from the city.
Responses to the RFP are due to the city by 3 p.m. April 27.
