Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • January 8, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 7 PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Valenti Cadillac | Hartford, Connecticut This project was a renovated Cadillac dealership which includes specialty fi nishes, high speed doors, custom millwork and was completed on time and within budget. The project was also completed as Construction Manager. Total Project Size: 10,000 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfi eld, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: A PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD also is president/owner of East Hartford's Van Horst General Contractors LLC, which does business as Van Horst Commercial Construction & Maintenance. Rutka, who speaks for Hartford Jet Center, not the airport, is an enthusiastic supporter of Brainard and its history as the nation's first municipal airport in 1921. The airport was the first stop by Charles Lind- bergh and his "Spirit of St. Louis" after his nonstop trans-Atlantic flight, and first test site for nylon parachutes in World War II. Economic development role A pilot himself, Rutka sees potential for Brainard to play a greater role in the region's economic development, which is already significant, he said, rattling off private and public uses, including serv- ing corporate clients, medical flights, the Civil Air Patrol and state police. He also believes the airport is a gate- way to introducing more students to careers in high-paying aviation jobs as pilots or aircraft maintenance workers. "Hartford-Brainard Airport is the heart of our state," proximate to key highways, Rutka said, but still largely "untapped for the most part and we've been opening up the spigot here to encourage people to come in and visit the facility." There has been talk in the past about redeveloping the 200-acre airport for other uses to generate more tax revenue for Hartford. But a legislative commit- tee in December 2016 recommended the airport's use not change. The Legislative Program Review and In- vestigations Committee said there was no clear path forward for closing the airport anytime soon and that it helps Connecticut rank in the top 10 states nationwide for general aviation economic contribution, the only New England state to do so. The study estimated Connecticut's general aviation industry supports 30,300 jobs and has an annual economic impact of $3.8 billion. The report noted that Hartford Jet Center also wants to build — not just renovate — at Brainard. "It has submitted a proposal to CAA to build indoor aircraft storage space (T- hangar and box hangar)," the report said. "Thinking more long-term, it would like to construct a new building next to the terminal, with a conference center, visi- tors' center, and restaurant with rooftop seating." said of the airport proposal, "but the state of Connecticut is in very serious financial condition, so any movement to try to restructure costs could prove help- ful in this very difficult time." Democratic state Sen. Tim Larson (East Hartford), who also is executive di- rector of the Tweed New Haven Regional Airport Authority, knows AvPORTS well: It has managed all aspects of Tweed New Haven since 1998. Larson is the only Air- port Authority employee at the airport; all others are AvPORTS workers. "They're a great operation," Larson said, praising the company's affordability, service and flexibility, including wait- ing to get paid by the Airport Authority, which, due to state fiscal issues, had not yet received a $1.5 million state subsidy in late December to help pay AvPORTS. "Those are the kind of things that sort of stand out with regard to the type of company they are," Larson said. AvPORTS' role Lindsey Rutka, co-owner of Brainard's fixed-base operator, Hartford Jet Center, whose operations or those of its tenants include jet fuel sales, maintenance, flight lessons, hangars, charter operations and a restaurant on a ground lease with CAA and is not involved in airfield operations, appreciates the work state employees do at the airport. "They do a phenomenal job, in my eyes," Rutka said, speaking only for Hartford Jet Center. "Whichever way the state or the state agencies decide to go, hopefully it's the best for the community across the board here." The CAA's Dillon emphasized that the Airport Authority would continue to man- age the airports if AvPORTS were hired. "We would be making the development decisions at the airport, we would contin- ue to be responsible for capital improve- ments of the infrastructure," he said. "This company would simply be supplying the labor to operate on a day-to-day basis." AvPORTS manages a number of com- mercial and general aviation airports in the U.S., according to its website. At Tweed, the company delivers airport operations, maintenance and janitorial services, administration and accounting services, engineering and planning and parking operations, accord- ing to its website. AFCO AvPORTS' website lists man- agement service roles at commercial airports that include Albany (N.Y.) International, Newark (N.J.) Liberty In- ternational, Stewart International (New Windsor, N.Y.) and Westchester County (N.Y.). On the general aviation side, it lists Gary/Chicago International, Republic (Farmingdale, N.Y.), Rhode Island Airport Corp. (for five general aviation airports in the state) and Teterboro (N.J.). It also lists roles at military and special airports Mof- fett Federal Airfield (Calif.) and Westover Air Reserve Base (Mass.). An AvPORTS official did not return a call for comment. Financial Performance of CT's General Aviation Airports Airports Brainard Oxford Groton-New London Danielson Windham Operating Revenues $495,048 $1,196,504 $697,123 $60,252 $110,877 Operating Expenses $1,020,078 $792,425 $1,443,303 $199,303 $285,463 Operating Loss/Gain $(525,030) $404,079 $(746,180) $(139,051) $(174,586) Source: CT Airport Authority BECOME A SPONSOR Connect with your target market! CONTACT JAIME RUDY TODAY! JRUDY@HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM P: 860-236-9998 | WWW.HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM

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