Warren County recently gave preliminary approval for developer Rich Schermerhorn to construct two new 12,000-square foot corporate jet hangers at the county’s Floyd Bennett Memorial airport in Queensbury.
Schermerhorn operates Rich Air, the fixed base operator that has been at the airport for the past 7-and-a-half years. During his tenure, he’s built four 12,000-square foot jet hangers and gave the terminal building a makeover, on the land he controls under a lease agreement with the county.
Last year, Schermerhorn built two T-hangar building to house single-propeller planes. A restaurant has also been constructed on the property.
Schermerhorn says he is building an additional 12,000-square foot hangar for a client with a single large aircraft, and a second will be rented out to other tenants.
“Reason being, traffic keeps picking up in the northern part of the state here,” said Schermerhorn.
Schermerhorn noted a streak of business developments and increased use at the Saratoga County Airport.
The buildings would be paid for by the developer. Warren County Airport Manager Ross DuBarry says the additional space would be a big source of revenue.
“Each corporate aircraft has a huge, tremendous impact on our finances and the local economy. It brings jobs to the area, additional business for the airport itself, and all the ancillary businesses benefit from that as well,” said DuBarry.
Economic development officials in Warren County have frequently pointed to the improvement of the airport as critical to the county’s economic stability.
Schermerhorn says there’s often demand to store aircraft indoors for short amounts of time, particularly in the winter months.
“Sometimes we get people that will land here other than going to some other airports because I have the accommodations to house these airplanes overnight or for as long as they want,” said Schermerhorn.
Schermerhorn hopes to begin work on the hangars in July. The county will schedule a public hearing on the project before giving final approval.
