May 16—DULUTH — When the active duty Duluth Air Force Base downsized and eventually closed March 31, 1982, many of its old facilities were transitioned to the city and the Duluth Airport Authority.
Over time, the authority made use of the buildings, but didn't invest much into them, said Tom Werner, the executive director of the Duluth International Airport.
Some of those facilities are now more than 50 years old. While the buildings are no longer worth maintaining, the sites are "prime for redevelopment," according to Werner.
Additionally, Duluth International Airport's air traffic control tower is over 70 years old, making it the third-oldest in the country, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
"That's not a distinction that we want to have," Werner said. "The tower is important to safety and commerce. With weather conditions being what they are in the Northland, having somebody in an air traffic control tower watching out for every pilot as they come and go is extremely advantageous."
With 67,000 annual operations, Duluth International Airport generates $760.6 million in economic impact every year and sustains over 6,200 direct, indirect and induced jobs.
"It's extremely important to the region's economy," Werner said.
Of the 133 airports in the state (excluding Minneapolis−St. Paul International Airport and its six reliever airports in the metro), Duluth International Airport makes up 76% of the out-state economic activity generated, Werner said.
Over the past seven years, the authority has spent over $500,000 on the condemned tower, according to Director of Communication and Marketing Natalie Baker.
"It's beyond its useful life," Baker said. "The time for improvements is done. It needs replacing."
A two-year, $1.5 million study called
Vision 2040 was conducted in 2019 to determine the next 20 years of development, maintenance and capital investment for the entire 3,300-acre airport campus.
Prior, a public involvement plan was developed to guide the approach to stakeholder and community engagement during the creation of the airport master plan.
The public and stakeholders were invited to partake in each stakeholder and technical advisory committee meeting, Werner said, and regular updates are given at Duluth Airport Authority Board meetings held on the third Tuesday each month.
"The Technical Advisory Committee meeting that was focused on the tower helped inform the information that was sent to the FAA to determine the tower location," Werner said.
Of the seven locations that were evaluated, the FAA determined there are two sites on the airfield that are possible for a new air traffic control tower.
"There is a long and arduous list of criteria that go into that," Werner said.
Hermantown Hydraulics and Hydrosolutions of Duluth occupy these potential sites. Both private businesses are leasing from the Duluth Airport Authority. Each 3-acre site is situated midfield on the 2-mile-long runway.
Hydrosolutions, 4845 Lackland St., employs 21 people. Founded in 2002, it specializes in water-jet cutting, metal forming, machining and assembling products for the aerospace, medical and architectural industries.
The authority has encouraged the potentially affected tenants to explore relocation options and ensure a succession plan is in place, Werner said.
The Duluth Economic Development Authority has reached out to both businesses, according to Chris Fleege, the city's director of planning and economic development.
Discussions have taken place with Hydrosolutions about potential relocation options in the Airpark and the Atlas industrial site, but Fleege said the company expressed a strong interest in remaining on the airport property, if possible.
"This is a true hardship. Being required to move is extremely difficult in this time of escalated land and building costs," Hydrosolutions President Dan Larson said, declining to comment further.
Hydrosolutions is working on a plant layout in the search for a building that would accommodate the business and allow for growth, according to Enterprise Minnesota's business growth adviser, Jim Schottmuller.
Over the last year, Area Partnership for Economic Expansion staff worked with Hydrosolutions to identify existing industrial real estate across the Twin Ports, APEX President and CEO Rachel Johnson said.
The economic and business development organization coordinated tours and compiled facility prospects sourced from public and private real estate leaders, including the cities of Duluth and Superior, Development Association, Northland Connection, Duluth Seaway Port Authority and Greg Follmer Commercial Real Estate.
"However, the process has not been an easy one due to a lack of available industrial and warehousing real estate in the Twin Ports, making industrial business attraction and local expansions extremely challenging," Johnson explained. "Homegrown companies like HydroSolutions have contributed millions to our economy and want to make their growth in our community efficient."
APEX and regional economic development leaders are trying to solve this challenge and are working on site readiness, Johnson said, targeting site development locations that can be made shovel-ready and available for situations like this.
"Large and exciting development projects that will help fill this void are coming down the pike, but it remains a tough situation for companies in need of new facilities yesterday," Johnson said.
The authority's preferred site for the new Federal Aviation Administration airport traffic control tower is the Hermantown Hydraulics current location, 4905 Airport Road in Hermantown, Werner said.
Hermantown Hydraulics offers sales and service of hydraulic equipment and parts.
In 2015, the authority signed a lease extension and implemented a short-term triple-net lease, Werner said.
With a typical triple-net lease, the commercial tenant pays rent, and is also responsible for property expenses such as utilities, insurance, maintenance and taxes.
"It's a little less advantageous of us because we're not assuming a building that we know we don't want to save," Werner said. "The agreement acknowledges the Airport Authority is going to redevelop the space for aeronautical purposes and economical development. It puts the tenant on notice that while you're willing to stay here for a while, we'll give 180 days notice if and when they will need to vacate."
However, funding hasn't yet been approved, nor has the FAA chosen between the two sites —a decision Werner said is anticipated to solidify within the next year.
The new tower will increase in height from 45 feet to 123 feet to allow for visibility of the entire airfield's airspace, as well as to the end of each of the airport's four runways.
"It's a critical piece of our safety here and we're excited about getting this project going and makings sure it can support our growth for many years to come," Werner said.
The $52 million project comes together with $38 million in federal funding, $14 million from the state and $2 million from the Duluth Airport Authority.
The authority plans to apply for the FAA's Airport Terminal Program — a $5 billion, five-year federal grant supporting terminal modernization and restoration projects at non-hub and small, medium and large hub airports. The program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Awards are anticipated to be announced in March, Baker said.
State funding is being sought to match the federal grant opportunity.
Prior to implementation, the project must undergo additional analysis including environmental review through the National Environmental Policy Act, according to Vision 2040.
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