New jobs proposed for airport

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Terre Haute International Airport could soon be home to an Army National Guard maintenance facility, under a proposal announced during an Airport Board meeting Wednesday.

That facility, which would be built on airport property on part of the airport’s northeast corner, would cost about $10 million to build, said Bill McKown, the airport’s executive director.

In all, the maintenance facility would come with 50 to 60 new full-time jobs, airport officials said.

Along with those jobs, McKown said the facility would also bring hundreds of National Guardsmen on weekends; something he believes would bring extra economic benefits to nearby businesses.

“The weekends that have, like our air guard does with their drill weekends, could add up to 200 (people) coming in,” McKown said. “Now we’re talking hotels, fast food restaurants … tremendous impacts.”

McKown said construction on the new facility could begin as early as Spring 2013. He said the facility would also have a long-term lease which could last 50 years or more.