Plans to construct new hangars at Fort Worth Spinks Airport are ready for takeoff.
The Fort Worth City Council voted Jan. 26 to initiate the project, allowing developer Copeland and Bullard to move forward in building two 3,600 square-foot hangars and one 12,000 square foot hangar with parking and office space.
The hangars would be used to store the aircraft based at Spinks, which is running out of space in its existing hangars. Spinks Airport currently has about 40 facilities that house more than 270 aircraft, and the airport is continually seeing interest from businesses and other entities that wish to house their aircraft at Spinks, according to Assistant Airport System Director Aaron Barth.
“There’s a need for hangar space because most, if not all, hangar space that is currently at the airport is filled up,” Barth said. “These folks recognized the need and are interested in filling that need.”
The hanger project costs an estimated $1 million. Construction is expected to begin within the next 30 days and finish by May.
Building new hangars was one of the stipulations in the leasing agreement Copeland and Bullard made with the city back in January 2015. Copeland and Bullard agreed to lease 45,776 square feet of land on the east side of Spinks Airport for $0.20 per square foot annually, which totals to $9,155.20 each year.
Along with building new hangars, Spinks Airport is also building a two-lane, 1.4-mile service road connecting the east and west sides of the airport. The road is meant to allow fuel trucks to safely travel to the fuel station at the east side of the airfield. Typically, in order to get to the fuel station, fuel truck drivers would have to coordinate with air traffic control and drive over active runways being used by airplanes, Barth said.
The service road project’s funding comes from both the city and the Aviation Division of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). In 2014, the city council accepted a grant from TxDOT’s Aviation Division that would pay for the majority of the project. TxDOT planned to contribute $2.6 million, while the city planned contribute $300,000.
TxDOT, however, found that its grant alone wasn’t enough to fund portions of the project, so in November 2015, TxDOT asked for an increase in the city’s contribution, making the city’s share of the funding $460,497. The city had already paid $28,400 for the design phase of the project, so that amount plus the additional contribution requested by TxDOT brought the city’s total to $488,897.
Since the $488,897 goes over the original $300,000 that the city originally planned to pay, the city council voted at its Jan. 26 meeting to amend the agreement with TxDOT and allow the city’s contribution amount to be raised.
The total cost of the road project is about $3.1 million. Construction is expected to begin in May and finish toward the end of the year.
“We’re excited to see interest in the airport from a developmental standpoint,” Barth said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the needs be met for the demand of aircraft that want to be based here.”
Spinks Airport, located at 450 Alsbury Court, is a general aviation airport used for corporate flights, recreational flights, training and other various services.
Pate Ranch zoning change
The council approved a zoning change in the Pate Ranch area along Chisholm Trail Parkway.
The change involves two tracts of land both spanning a little more than 10 acres each. The Sid Richardson Foundation owns one tract of land, and Provident Realty Advisors — the owners of Pate Ranch who are planning a development project on the 468-acre property — owns the other.
Because the Bryant Irvin Road realignment project would have created an oddly shaped tract of land for Provident Realty, Provident Realty and the Sid Richardson Foundation decided to swap land. That way, Provident Realty owns the land east of Bryant Irvin Road, and the Sid Richardson Foundation owns the land west of Bryant Irvin Road.
“It cleans up the boundary line,” Provident Realty President Jay Hawes said.
The land swap required the city to rezone both properties to match the zoning in the land’s respective surrounding areas. The Sid Richardson Foundation’s land went from “A-5” One-Family to “FR” General Commercial zoning, while Provident Realty’s land went from “FR” General Commercial to “A-5” One-Family zoning.
Provident Realty plans to build housing and retail development on the Pate Ranch property. David Berzina, executive vice president of economic development at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, announced Jan. 21 that the Pate Ranch project would be renamed to “Tavolo Park.”
Click here for a summary of the types of zoning in Fort Worth.