Story ID: 
Chicagoland FBO in Full Growth Mode
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: In operation for less than two years, B. Coleman Aviation has big plans for the future.
Word Count: 191
B. Coleman Aviation, one of two service providers at Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), has received approval from the airport authority for expansion. The company debuted its $9 million FBO, including a 52,000-sq-ft hangar in November 2014, and has received a 30-year lease for a parcel of land north of its current facility. The first phase of its new expansion plan calls for constructing a 40,000-sq-ft hangar at a minimum investment of $5 million over the next year, while future development will allow the company to build an additional four hangars with investment pegged at $15 million.

“In the past two years, our business at Gary/Chicago International Airport has grown significantly, and we no longer have enough space to meet demand,” said company president John Girzadas. “We are excited about the future growth prospects for the airport. Our plans reflect not only where we think the airport is today, but where it is going in the future.”

Last year, GYY completed a $174 million expansion project, lengthening its main runway from 7,000 feet to 8,900 feet. Gary Jet Center, the other FBO on the field, also recently added two new hangars.