ExecutiveChronicles.com | What Are the Latest Developments at Gateway Airport | Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is more than just your typical airport. It’s also a thriving hub for corporate and commercial aviation companies, as well as aeronautical and non-aeronautical businesses.
Arizona has six key industries contributing to economic growth, and aerospace is one of them. Companies like Honeywell, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman call this state home. With its central location and ongoing developments, Gateway Airport is the perfect place for new and existing aviation businesses to thrive and expand.
In addition to being near other aerospace companies, Gateway Airport is located within the Greater Phoenix metropolitan area, which consists of 23 cities and towns in Maricopa and Pinal Counties. With Maricopa County holding 75 percent of Arizona’s population, Gateway Airport is close to over 4.4 million people. Big things are on the horizon for this area, with the population of Maricopa County forecasted to rise 21 percent over the next 10 years. Businesses at Gateway Airport will enjoy a large workforce and high quality of life.
Both old and new companies are rushing to call the Greater Phoenix area home, as they take advantage of the ample space and opportunities available to them at Gateway Airport. To better understand how Gateway can be a positive location for your business, here are some of the most recent developments happening at and around the airport.
SkyBridge Arizona Breaks Ground at Gateway Airport
SkyBridge Arizona broke ground on its first two buildings at Gateway Airport in October of 2019, and it’s making history. Once open, Skybridge Arizona is a development that will serve as the nation’s first-ever joint US and Mexico inland port and customs processing hub. Using Unified Cargo Processing (UCP), it will be able to complete on-site cargo inspections and processing to expedite shipments from the US directly to their Mexico destinations. Talk about putting Gateway Airport land to good use!
This new location will consist of 360 acres and sit just southwest of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Its first two buildings include an aviation hangar and a flex industrial building. The hangar will feature four bays, each totaling approximately 18,000 square feet with approximately 2,500 square feet of administrative space. Both buildings will also accommodate aircraft as large as a G650 business jet. The 60,000-square-foot flex industrial building will be suitable for warehouse and light industrial use and can be leased by up to two occupants, making this an extremely practical space.
Known as Phase Zero of Skybridge Arizona, these initial two buildings are just the beginning of a much larger project. Skybridge is projected to include a warehouse consisting of 2 million square feet: 1.7 million square feet of light industrial, cargo, and flex space; 200,000 square feet of office space; and 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. With the thriving business market located in the Phoenix area, this new addition to Gateway Airport is coming at the perfect time.
Able Aerospace Opens an Expansion to Their Facility
Able Aerospace Services relocated from Phoenix to Mesa in 2013. After years of success at their 200,000-square-foot campus at Gateway Airport, they decided to further invest in their existing space and add 60,000 square feet. The $9 million expansion was officially opened in late 2019 and allowed Able to offer new services and products.
Since Able first opened its doors at Gateway Airport, the company was acquired by Textron Aviation Inc. and added more than 200 employees. The newly opened expansion will provide 100 new aerospace jobs over the next two years.
The hangar features a maintenance center and has prime ramp space within Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. With more than 95 percent of the work completed in-house by their well-trained team, Able performs high-quality component MRO services at Gateway and will focus on incorporating new technology
Aerocircular Selects Gateway for North American Facility
With many countries to choose from, Belgium-based Aerocircular made the decision to expand its operations to North America by opening a facility at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
Aerocircular provides end-of-life recycling and up-cycling services for airplanes in a green and economical way. After salvaging old parts from airplanes, the parts are repurposed to create new products and materials like aluminum and composite. As the company’s first and only operation in North America, Aerocircular will be adding 137 jobs to the Phoenix metro area in the next five years.
Wetta Ventures, an Arizona real estate development and investment company, will design and construct Aerocircular’s 45,000-square-foot facility. The new space will allow for the dismantlement of up to three 737s at one time, with a turnaround completion time of three weeks or less. Aerocircular’s new North American location will open in mid- to late 2020 and is positioned for a lucrative future.
SkyBridge Arizona, Able Aerospace Services, Wetta Ventures, and Aerocircular aren’t the only notable developments underway at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Gateway’s 20-year tenant Aviation Performance Solutions is constructing two hangars totaling 70,000 square feet, and Gateway Executive Park will debut three hangars totaling 185,000 square feet. Developers and MRO companies alike are taking advantage of the many opportunities available at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and realizing the high-quality of life and workforce available in the Phoenix metro area.
