Chicago Executive Airport board halts T-hangar talks

The Chicago Executive Airport board will stop talking about the much-discussed T-hangars, at least for a year.

The board decided on Wednesday that with the debt the airport already has and the uncertain economy, it was more prudent to wait a year for the airport, co-owned by Prospect Heights and Wheeling, to consider building the T-shaped hangars that line up back-to-back.

However, the board also agreed that Airport Manager Dennis Rouleau should see if any private companies are interested in building the airplane garages.

"The feasibility of financing this without underwriting it just isn't there," said board member and Wheeling Village Manager Mark Rooney.

The hangars have proved problematic for the airport because customers want more, but the cost of building them is just too high. The fear is that renters will not want to pay the money necessary to break even on the venture.

Last month, the board asked for a market study to be done on the issue and it revealed that the rent would have to be about $850 a month for 16 new hangars. Plus, the current renters, who pay about $450 for older hangars, would have to put up an additional $150 a month.

Board member Luis Mendez pushed to build now, saying that customers are calling for the new facilities. However, the rest of the board said they'd like to see more surveys done of people on the waiting list to see if they would be willing to pay the $850 rent.

"Gathering more data wouldn't hurt us," said member David Kolssak.

Board Chairman Allan Englehardt said there's also no immediate need to build new space.

"We can't take on all this additional debt," he said. "I don't think we're in a position to take that risk."

The issue, which has been repeatedly discussed in the past months, will be off the table until next September unless a private company takes an interest in building the T-hangars.