PXE unveils new terminal, corporate building

PERRY, Ga. — The Perry Chamber of Commerce hosted the grand opening for the new Perry-Houston County Airport Terminal and Corporate Building on Tuesday morning in light of new additions at the facility there to serve visitors and local businesses alike.

Airport Manager Jim Marquardt spoke with The Journal on the significance of the additions and what they can mean for the future of Houston County, explaining that these will serve as a type of “first impression” for potential business growth in the area.

“The new terminal, itself, is a lot bigger — 4,600 square foot versus our old one, which was 1,400 square foot,” Marquardt said. “So we have much more room to accommodate passengers and crew, we have a lot more within the facility that is needed by those individuals, such as break rooms and shower rooms for the pilots and for the crew.

“And then what this is, is this is the gateway. So if you’re a business looking to do business in this area, this is the gateway. This is what you’re going to see that tells you a lot about the county that you’re thinking about doing business in.”

He mentioned the proximity of the airport to The Guardian Centers, Frito-Lay, Perdue Farms and the future Jack Link’s facility among others. The additions could streamline transportation processes for businesses with aircraft fleets.

“This puts them much, much closer to their business and allows them to get in and get out much quicker,” he said.

Marquardt explained that the first step in approving a project of this caliber was to secure the funding required while also brainstorming its function and design.

Airport leadership met with state leadership back around July or August 2020, he said.

“We have a brand new apron out here, $3.2 million apron, that GDOT built in front of the terminal before we built the terminal,” he said. “And they [GDOT] invested that $750,000, as I mentioned, in the terminal itself. They just resurfaced and lengthened our runway, costed $2.2 million.”

Airport leadership quickly found out that the terminal and corporate building project would require more money, so they turned to assistance from the county for an additional $1.8 million in SPLOST funds to complete both the terminal and the hangar.

“The hangar, that gives us the ability to take on jet aircraft now and house jet aircraft at this facility — which we now have two jet aircraft that are being housed in that facility,” he said. “And that provides us a little over $3,000 right now [per] month [in] additional income.”

He said he began brainstorming by visiting terminals as close by as around Georgia and Alabama, while visiting some as far north as Indiana in order to obtain an idea on what would fit the situation in Perry. The next step was to take Airport Authority Board members and look around five terminals close by in Georgia and Alabama.

“We looked and we pointed out what we saw that we thought we needed and what fit what we were looking for, and we sat down with JMA Architecture in Perry here,” Marquardt said. “They came up with a drawing, and then we just kind of tweaked the drawing and said: ‘Well, we need more stalls in a restroom, we need more of this, we want to widen this.’ And that’s how we came up with what we’ve got now.”

According to Marquardt, GDOT commissions an economic impact study for all airports statewide every five years.

“In 2015, the economic impact provided by the Perry-Houston County Airport was about $4.8 million; fast forward to 2020, and our economic impact now is a little over $10 million, $10.2 million,” he explained. “With the addition of this hangar and the additional aircraft that will be taken in — as well as a lot of business I think will be driven this direction now — you can expect the economic impact to be well probably north of $15 million.”

He added that people flying into the area often land at the airport, rent cars, buy gas, stay in local hotels, eat at restaurants and visit shops. Local attractions like Buc-ee’s and Rigby’s also see visits, while some visitors seek business ventures.

In the closing moments of the ceremony, the “Tommy Stalnaker Terminal” was named in honor of Chairman Tommy Stalnaker of the Houston County Commissioners, his five decades of service to the county and his support of the Perry-Houston County Airport and its endeavors over the years.

“That is because of all of the support that Chairman Stalnaker has done for this airport,” Marquardt said. “I mean, the list is quite extensive in how much he has believed in the economic value of this airport and how much effort he has put into it — in terms of not just the SPLOST dollars for the terminal, but also for hangars that have been built out here, roads that have been extended, property that has been bought. He has a been a huge supporter of this airport.”

Many public figures were present at the grand opening, including: Centerville Mayor John Harley, Perry Mayor Randall Walker, Angie Gheesling from The Development Authority of Houston County, Chairman Tommy Stalnaker and other county commissioners, along with other city council members from around the county. Staff from Rep. Austin Scott’s office along with Sen. Larry Walker were present as well.

The Perry-Houston County Airport provides fueling, towing, maintenance and storage services for visiting and private aircraft. Flight crews are able to borrow on-site vehicles to run errands between flights.

The airport opened in 1942 and was used as an auxiliary training facility for Army pilots. The City of Perry obtained the field following World War II, developing it into a municipal airport and opening it in 1947.

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