Work in progress on new terminal

Staff Writer

rseaborn@pickenssentinel.com

PICKENS COUNTY - The Pickens County Airport is getting a facelift, with work already starting on a new terminal that airport and county officials say will aid in attracting new businesses to the area and pour money into the local economy.

"We have the fastest private jet made, the Citation 10, sitting out here right now," Skeets Cooper, airport director, said Monday. "It can fly at 615 miles per hour.

"And we have one of the largest business jets (on the market), the Gulf Stream 5, just landed here yesterday," he said.

While the general location of the airport, along with the quality services it provides, is already attracting more customers, Cooper said that the new terminal, and the amenities it will offer, will entice other pilots to utilize the facility.

And more planes landing at the airport brings in additional revenue to the county, he said.

While the official groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, grading for the terminal began about two weeks earlier, with construction to be completed in about ten months, Ted Edwards, airport supervisor, said.

The terminal will encompass 4,400 square feet, and will have a comfortable lobby area, complete with a fireplace, for passengers preparing for flights, or guests awaiting the arrival of planes, he said.

In addition, the terminal will have office space for the airport director and a large conference room, which will be available for meetings, Edwards said.

The present facility offers airport officials limited sight of the airport's runways, but the future terminal will provide an unobstructed view of the total runway without leaving the building with an enclosed observation and lookout area, he said.

Pickens County Aeronautics Commission Chairman Verone Peace said a state survey by the Division of Aeronautics showed the airport contributes financially to our economy.

"Based on that survey, it was revealed that the Pickens County Airport contributes both directly and indirectly over $10 million to the local economy," he said. "At the present time, the Pickens County Airport has just over 15,000 operations annually and provides service to 34 base aircraft.

"When the ten T-hangars and six box hangars are completed, this will place the Pickens County Airport projected goal's of having the airport in a positive cash flow within eight years," he said. "This is just the beginning of a milestone in the journey of the Pickens County Airport."

Peace said planning the airport's growth while looking toward its future has been an ongoing process that began in the early 1990s and was based on the work and cooperation of many people and groups.

"Only through the effort of the Pickens County Council, County Administrator Chappell Hurst, the Pickens County Aeronautics Commission and airport Director (Skeets Cooper) were we able to accomplish this project," he said. Still, "we have a lot of construction to do and more funds needed to be raised through the private sector to reach our goals."

Cooper said the new terminal will be an important factor in attracting new clients to the airport who will need to refuel their planes and either dine in local restaurants or use area catering services.

"This will benefit the county in drawing traffic from the Upstate of South Carolina and Western North Carolina," he said. "And when they stop here, they will spend money."