Anyone build a hangar recently?

[Chris Dickens]

I don't own an airplane of my own...yet. But that day is coming in the near future. Unfortunately, every airport within an hour's drive of my home has a waiting list for hangar space years-long...even the community hangars are full. One of the closer airports (KFQD) has offered a ground lease to build a hangar. They prefer something around 60x60 to promote airport development, but they will consider something smaller. I'm planning on acquiring a Baron 55 (maybe a 58?) in the next year or two. The airport manager said he thought a 60x60 with electrical power, bathroom and heat/air would run about $200k or so. I don't necessarily need the bathroom, and HVAC would be nice but not necessary. I just wanted to ping the community and see if anyone else has built a hangar recently. All the references I'm seeing are pre-COVID, and we all know what prices have done in the last few years!

Thanks for any inputs!

 

[Sinistar]

At that size and its mega sized door and huge slab i would think you'll go past $160k very quickly. Throw in plumbing, bathroom, insulation, dang big heater and AC and od be pretty surprised if you don't break $190k. Now a large pole building, no heat or ac and considerably cheaper - but I'm guessing the airport leasing authority want something more fancy than a pole building. Plus this is most likely commercial so not sure how much work you can even do yourself. All that said...total envy on 60x60!

 

[schmookeeg]

200 seems about right. You could lease space to two other planes to cover the ground lease and utils.

I can't imagine building anything smaller than a 60x60 personally. I have a friend building a 50x60 now, I know the slab is 30, the steel is 55, and the door was 12. He's going to build it himself, so I think even with electrical, hvac, and rentals/nonsense he'll end up in the 120 ballpark, valuing his labor at zero.

I am picturing the lowboy dropping off a pile of steel bits, an allen wrench, and a half-sheet of paper which depicts a lego minifig staring at a pile of sticks in the top left, then making "ta da" face at the completed hangar on the bottom right, ala ikea furniture instructions.

 

[Craig]

Chris: Even if you aren’t going to put a bathroom in, you should at least stub it out for one. Someday you might want to install one. No having to tear things up to get the plumbing into the slab then.

 

[Kitch]

I am picturing the lowboy dropping off a pile of steel bits, an allen wrench, and a half-sheet of paper which depicts a lego minifig staring at a pile of sticks in the top left, then making "ta da" face at the completed hangar on the bottom right, ala ikea furniture instructions.

I laughed way to hard at this comment.

I've looked into building a 60x60. In this part of the country (northeast) I don't think you could do it for 200k. Unfortunately

 

[charheep]

I don't own an airplane of my own...yet. But that day is coming in the near future. Unfortunately, every airport within an hour's drive of my home has a waiting list for hangar space years-long...even the community hangars are full. One of the closer airports (KFQD) has offered a ground lease to build a hangar. They prefer something around 60x60 to promote airport development, but they will consider something smaller. I'm planning on acquiring a Baron 55 (maybe a 58?) in the next year or two. The airport manager said he thought a 60x60 with electrical power, bathroom and heat/air would run about $200k or so. I don't necessarily need the bathroom, and HVAC would be nice but not necessary. I just wanted to ping the community and see if anyone else has built a hangar recently. All the references I'm seeing are pre-COVID, and we all know what prices have done in the last few years!

Thanks for any inputs!

You will want the HVAC for sure. Heat at the very least, AC will help with humidity. With those, you can get higher rents or resale.

 

[midwestpa24]

I don't think anyone on our airport in Iowa has managed to build a hangar that size for less than $400k.

We were discussing this in the office today, and noted that all but one of our private hangar tenants have more money in the aircraft than their hangar. I'm not sure all the financial planning decisions different people make, but in my mind that makes sense. Spending more on a hangar than you have in an aircraft doesn't compute, but to each their own.

 

[eman1200]

maybe flocks can help @Flocker

if not, now he knows where they're building hangars

 

[EdFred]

I don't think anyone on our airport in Iowa has managed to build a hangar that size for less than $400k.

We were discussing this in the office today, and noted that all but one of our private hangar tenants have more money in the aircraft than their hangar. I'm not sure all the financial planning decisions different people make, but in my mind that makes sense. Spending more on a hangar than you have in an aircraft doesn't compute, but to each their own.

Granite flooring for that price???

 

[midwestpa24]

Granite flooring for that price???

$400k for 3600 (60x60) square feet is about $111/sq ft, which isn't bad here in Iowa. New home construction pre-pandemic was about $150-200 sq, post pandemic is still around 250-300+ sq.

I'm guessing it has to do with the fact Iowa doesn't have much for trees. I'm not sure there even is a lumber mill in the state!

 

[EdFred]

$400k for 3600 (60x60) square feet is about $111/sq ft, which isn't bad here in Iowa. New home construction pre-pandemic was about $150-200 sq, post pandemic is still around 250-300+ sq.

I'm guessing it has to do with the fact Iowa doesn't have much for trees. I'm not sure there even is a lumber mill in the state!

So that's a finished hangar, without drywall or similar on the inside walls or just the shell?

 

[midwestpa24]

So that's a finished hangar, without drywall or similar on the inside walls or just the shell?

Finished hangar. Wood framed typically, insulated, with either sheetmetal or other interior finishes. Usually a restroom and small kitchen/office space.

 

[EdFred]

Finished hangar. Wood framed typically, insulated, with either sheetmetal or other interior finishes. Usually a restroom and small kitchen/office space.

Ah, yeah, that explains the price tag. When we build our hangar at the next house, it's gonna be a shell only (roof, unfinished interior walls, pad, and door) with some minimal electrical. Maybe finish it over the course of a few years, or maybe not.

 

[mandm]

One day you’re going to sell it, so you’ll want to make it desirable to appeal to more people. A bathroom is a must, then you’d have to consider a lounge / office with air conditioning.

Things that you can control now are:
1) hangar lease, get a long long term. Try for a 50 year plus 50 year renewal or longer. Some airports do 30 years and if you own it 10 years then who wants to pay top dollar for a 20 year lease should you sell this in 10-15 years.
2) hangar rent to the airport, this you can negotiate, should be cheap since you are making the investment up front, specify how cost of living increases and renewals are handled and calculated. Use specific numbers or metrics.
3) rules, who manages the taxiway, lawn/snow, trash services, anywhere to dump oil, exterior lights, security, free landing fees for your aircraft, storage rules, does your county charge taxes on the building, etc
4) size, I would do 60x60 or 60x80, plus a large overhead door that could fit a large vehicle / RV
5) layout, bathroom / office, heat and A/C, etc
6) location, think about where the water goes in heavy rainstorms, are you a single hangar or connected, I would try to get a driveway on the side for a rear or side entry overhead door.

Sounds exciting nonetheless!!

 

[Pinecone]

You will want the HVAC for sure. Heat at the very least, AC will help with humidity. With those, you can get higher rents or resale.

And have higher utility bills to use up those higher rents.

 

[Flocker]

I just wanted to ping the community and see if anyone else has built a hangar recently. All the references I'm seeing are pre-COVID, and we all know what prices have done in the last few years!

Thanks for any inputs!

Depends on several factors, but generally speaking, larger hangars (5,000-11,995 SF) are around $185/SF to build here in the SE. This assumes the site is shovel ready. Anything over 12,000 SF generally requires fire suppression, hence the popularity of hangars around here that are 11,995 SF in size. In today's market, it's cheaper to buy existing construction. Lead time on steel can still be a factor. I'm happy to set up a call with my builder or provide some recent sales comps if needed.

 

[RyanB]

The airport manager said he thought a 60x60 with electrical power, bathroom and heat/air would run about $200k or so.

Unlikely. I'd budget triple that, maybe more depending on the variables at hand. Is the land already graded and pad-ready? Is there sewer at site? I can't imagine you'd want to build a hangar of that size and not put HVAC or a restroom in it. If you're serious about it, start discussing the lease terms and make sure it justifies your investment.

 

[Zeldman]

Build a 2 story hangar.

Use the 2nd floor to open a airport bar or rent it out to helicopter or UFO folks...

 

[Mtns2Skies]

A barebones 45'x45' hangar with the land already ready graded, was quoted at about $150k a couple years ago. I'd think you'll be looking at 250k-300k on the bottom end for a 60x60, and probably 400k more realistically by the time it's all said and done.

 

[Sinistar]

I saw a mention of going for a 50yr lease. Its hard to imagine any airport commission, municipal or anyone doing that.

(But we purchased into a 99yr lease for $1 with 75yrs remaining)

 

[kayakgeek]

I am just completing an 50'x40' hangar on private land at an airpark. Some things to consider:

-The price of steel has yet to come down from the pandemic bump and the lead time at the steel building manufacturers are long. After waiting and waiting for prices to come back down, I went with a stick built design which I am ultimately happier with.​

-Hangar door lead times are long and choice of door drives the engineering of the building required for permit. Schweiss wouldn't provide final engineering specs until a 50% deposit was put down and my engineer refused to do the calcs with preliminary specs. I had to switch to a different door company to unblock the process.​

-At least rough in for a bathroom even if you aren't planning to install one. The process of adding it later will be multiple times more expensive.​

-Fully understand the length of the land lease and what happens at the end. Often at the end, the airport owns your hangar with no compensation. Does the math work out vs just having rented (I know the wait lists are really long).​

-Understand local codes. For a "residential airplane hangar" I was limited to 2000 sqft. Anything above that required fire suppression that would have ballooned the price significantly. Not sure where that magic number is in your state or at a commercial property.​

 

[Sinistar]

I keep thinking of just the prep to heat 60x60. We are mid update to our old 50x35. The installed heater will run around $4k and is being installed in 2 weeks. When a hangar is that big I have seen two heaters used on opposite ends. So probably thinking closer to $8K to $10K just to pump in heat. Our 50ft back wall (14ft high) takes around 36 2x6 galvanized studs at $15/each. Throw in insulation and 5/8 fire rated sheetrock and just one wall will push $2000 and that is all interior and doesn't count wiring. So lets guess $3K per wall for 3 walls on the 60x60 hangar and closing in on another $10K or lets say $12K for the smaller side walls on the large door side. Then there is a monster ceiling. You want the most insulation there. Think R50 BIB. I don't know that cost but hard to imagine the framing, insulation and metal panels would cost less than another $15K or so. I would want a 1,000 gal propane tank as you'd be filling 500gal versions way to fast up here in the winter. So probably another $600 to get that tank delivered, pipe trenched and 3psi regulator on the outside wall. So I am guessing between around $40K minimum to be able to heat that space and have it be efficient. We are doing our own framing, insulation and sheetrock so no labor prices in the guestimate above.

This all assumes the hangar door was purchased ahead of time already insulated.

Maybe I missed above but I don't see too many 60x60 hangars that are 14ft height. Seems they go at least 16ft walls. So that is gonna bump up all other numbers as well.

I wonder too if 60ft can be spanned by wood trusses or are I-beams required when you start spanning this much space?

 

[Anthem]

the cheaper method for heat is to have external heaters. For the operational run of them - it seems most places that have heat in larger hangars, run the in-floor heat. Which makes sense since heat rises and starting it from down below - might work better. For AC, its the opposite, as its cooler down low than up high.

 

[mandm]

I saw a mention of going for a 50yr lease. Its hard to imagine any airport commission, municipal or anyone doing that.

(But we purchased into a 99yr lease for $1 with 75yrs remaining)

The fine print

This is how I see it, a lot of airports are just sitting there and they want development, so if they are in this situation, talk to a few different options to see who has the best package for you. If they are unwilling to budge, then that is an indicator to how your life is going to be like in the future with them (draconian). You will want to find a mutual middle ground, not just taking what’s been offered.

I think 30 years is probably the norm now with some extensions built-in for guaranteed 50 years or so, but those extensions cause discussions on maintenance and costs which won’t be cheap. So you’d want to clarify everything before moving forward.