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Deere project to open hangar space

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By Jennifer DeWitt | Wednesday, January 23, 2008 |

Construction of a new airport hangar by Deere & Co. will open up hangar space at the Quad-City International Airport as well as provide additional airport revenue, airport officials said Tuesday.

Bruce Carter, the airport’s aviation director, said Deere plans to build and own the new facility, but the Moline-based equipment manufacturer will rent the ground from the airport.

At a special meeting Tuesday, the Rock Island County Metropolitan Airport Authority unanimously approved a letter of intent from Deere to build the hangar. The cost and the size of the new hangar were not disclosed.

According to the letter, the new aviation headquarters and facility will sit on 11.5 acres on the northwest side of the airport. Deere will pay $200,000 a year in rent for the first five years and after that rent will be calculated on a per-year basis.

In addition to rent, Carter said “if Deere does a lot more flying, we’ll get more fuel flowage fees.”

Carter said the board’s approval paves the way for representatives of the airport and Deere to negotiate a final lease agreement.

The airport has agreed to buy Deere’s existing hangar for $3.1 million.

The new Deere hangar will be accessed from 69th Avenue.

“The new hangar certainly will raise our profile — we like to see things built on the airport for aeronautical use,” Carter said. “It also frees up a hangar for another tenant. We’re very excited about it.”

Construction is expected to begin in the spring and the facility is slated to open in the fall of 2009.

In related action, the airport authority approved an engineering agreement with Crawford, Murphy & Tilley for an environmental study of the site. It is not to exceed $15,000. It also approved a design contract not to exceed $90,000 with Missman, Stanley & Associates for sewer, water, enterprise zone and plat preparations.

With Deere’s new hangar, the airport will have five corporate hangars, including one built in recent years by the Davenport-based publishing company, Lee Enterprises, owner of the Quad-City Times.

Jennifer DeWitt can be contacted at (563) 383-2318 or jdewitt@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.