From left, Rosalind Mitchell, Paul Karras, and Taghi Arshami.

Gary/Chicago Airport, the next 20 years

Contributed By:The 411 News

The invitation to attend a public meeting on the Gary/Chicago International Airport’s Master Plan Update drew more than 100 area residents to learn how the airport may look during the next 20 years.

“With the completion of the runway extension in 2015, a major goal of the 2001 Master Plan,” said Stephen Mays, GCIA Commission chair, “the airport can pursue its goal to drive economic development and employment in northwest Indiana.” Mays pointed to the growth of the Gary Jet Center and B Coleman Aviation, its general aviation and fixed base operators, both expanding their services and facilities at the airport. And the airport is home to Boeing’s corporate flights. The addition of a new customs and border protection office, Mays said, will allow international flights.

All of those operations will factor into the master plan, along with its usage as a terminal for cargo and military transportation. The return of commercial passenger service is a goal for the airport commission.

Jim Wilson, of the aviation consulting firm Jacobsen/Daniels that heads the project, said the plan will take from 12 to 18 months to complete. Starting with what’s at the airport today, the Jacobsen/Daniels team will assess the wants of the users and airport commission, and how the airport can accommodate those needs to bring more business activity in and around the airport perimeter.

Current aviation trends and forecasting will help align those goals. “The business climate, location, competition, and population are parts of the analysis,” said Jason Glaser, a member of the forecasting team. “We’ll compare Gary with similar size airports. Gary is special because of its closeness to Midway and O’Hare.”

At Monday’s presentation were two Gary businesses working on the master plan update. Fluid Communications is organizing the community outreach portion. Karen Williams said she was pleased with the turnout and hopes the public stays engaged. A second public meeting will be held in the Fall.

Rosalind Mitchell, of the architecture and interior design firm Forms + Funktion, is working on graphics which includes aerial layouts of facilities and lands. She is also interviewing the airport tenants to determine their needs and will be involved in the data analysis.

Some of the attendees at the presentation were more engaged than others.

Ruth Needleman, spokeswoman for the NW Indiana Coalition of Resistance had Wilson looking for words with her questions about the airport’s use as a terminal for the deportation of immigrants. She questioned the airport’s will to increase passenger service.

More questions came from the audience – what about jobs for Gary residents and why couldn’t the meetings occur in places convenient for Gary residents? Commissioner Mays asked them to attend the next meetings for those answers, “We are just here for information today.”

In recent years, the airport has faced criticism for the few jobs that go to Gary residents on its construction projects. And the airport was central to a proposal two years ago from the GEO Group that sought to build an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee facility nearby. GEO withdrew its proposal after protests influenced the city leadership.

Story Posted:02/17/2017