During the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission’s meeting in Guthrie last week, commissioners approved a $500,000 state grant for the city of Grove to construct a new, $1 million terminal building at Grove Municipal Airport.
The grant comes by way of the Commission’s airport Capital Improvement Program, a planning and programming guide that the agency uses to determine how certain airport infrastructure projects are funded.
As a condition of Grove accepting the grant, the city will be responsible for providing a 50-percent match, or the remaining $500,000.
“General aviation airports are very important economic engines for communities across our state. They provide businesses who own aircraft the ability to reach markets across our state and nation, or those markets unreachable by traditional methods. Those same businesses, not so coincidentally, also create much-needed jobs,” said Director of Aeronautics Victor Bird, citing Grove-based companies Malone Manufacturing and Precision Machine & Manufacturing as prime examples.
The approximately 4,400-square-foot terminal building will feature a manager’s office, a large foyer with vaulted ceilings and a large waiting room, as well as various amenities desired by business travelers and recreational pilots alike. Those amenities will include a pilot’s lounge, which will be accessible 24/7, separate men’s and women’s restrooms, break room with fuel sales area, secondary lounge, vending area and two exterior decks. The structure will also sport a conference room that can be used for meetings by local groups or businesses flying into the airport.
“This is a major project that is going to help the city of Grove economically. We have an industrial park that is right behind our airport, and this project, along with plans to construct a new parallel taxiway and aircraft parking area, will help us attract more businesses to that site,” said airport manager Lisa Jewett.
Construction on the new terminal building will begin immediately, Jewett said.
Grove Municipal Airport has a 5,200-foot runway that can handle just about any business jet currently on the market.
