Spanish Fork breaks ground on airport development that will add 26 new hangars
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- Contractors, business owners and Spanish Fork City representatives break ground on a new hangar development at the Spanish Fork Airport on Friday, May 17, 2024.
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- The site for a new hangar development at the Spanish Fork Airport, pictured Friday, May 17, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork Mayor Mike Mendenhall speaks at a groundbreaking for a new hangar development at the Spanish Fork Airport on Friday, May 17, 2024.
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- A rendering of the FLT Academy that will be built at the Spanish Fork Airport.
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- FLT Academy CEO Jason Clark talks with an attendee at the groundbreaking for a new hangar development in the Spanish Fork Airport on Friday, May 17, 2024.
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- FLT Academy staff participate in the groundbreaking of a new hangar development at the Spanish Fork Airport on Friday, May 17, 2024.
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- Contractors, business owners and Spanish Fork City representatives break ground on a new hangar development at the Spanish Fork Airport on Friday, May 17, 2024.
Spanish Fork welcomed new airport development Friday by breaking ground for construction on the Utah Aviation Business Park, which will include 26 new aviation hangars.
The development will be an extension of the current Spanish Fork Airport and is being built on the east side of the existing buildings and runways west of Main Street. The development is estimated to be worth $48 million, according to a press release from Spanish Fork City.
During Friday’s groundbreaking, Spanish Fork Mayor Mike Mendenhall thanked the contractors and business owners who are building the project, acknowledging that the development brings more business into the city.
“What’s been down here at the airport has been nothing short of amazing,” Mendenhall said at the groundbreaking, speaking to the developers and contractors of the project. “From the people you bring in, the tenants you bring into hangars and the flight school that’s been operated here. It’s not lost on the city of what that need means economically.”
FLT Academy is one of the businesses that already has agreed to lease hangar space, which will be a location for both private and commercial pilot training.
The flight school is partnered with SkyWest Airlines, a Utah-based regional airline out of St. George that contracts with larger airlines such as Delta and American Airlines. SkyWest operates flights out of Salt Lake City and soon Provo with American Airlines.
Jason Clark, founder and CEO of FLT Academy, thanked Spanish Fork City for its work with his company and the development, adding the academy is “so excited” to see the project begin to come together.
“This is gonna be awesome,” he said at the groundbreaking. “We’re gonna be bringing a lot of business here. We’re going to be bringing in between 40 and 50 employees, 40 and 50 new aircraft.”
Clark also is the owner of Cruiser Aircraft USA, an aircraft manufacturer, which also will be a tenant in the new development.
Mendenhall said the new hangar development is part of a larger vision of growth in this part of the city, particularly with industrial development.
“What you see now happening here on this site is a part of a broad development happening all over this airport, not just on airport property but industrial all over,” he said.
The airport falls within the boundaries of the Verk Industrial Park, a Utah Inland Port project area that encompasses about 2,681 acres north of the Interstate 15 exit in Spanish Fork. The industrial park is likely to attract various manufacturing, distribution and data centers.
Mendenhall said there have been millions of dollars invested into the area around the airport, and that number is likely approaching the billions as growth continues.
“The area around the airport is sure one of the brightest spots of our city,” he said. “And it’s not for a lack of planning. It’s been very intentional.”
According to a press release from Spanish Fork City, the new hangars will range from 4,900 to 54,000 square feet with a value range of $800,000 to $5 million. Current hangars at the airport range from 3,600 to 21,000 square feet.
The release also states that several hangars have already been purchased or leased out to various private businesses, but some hangars are still available.
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