A group in Pennsylvania is seeking to develop an aviation and aircraft maintenance center at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport (JST). The proposed center, the Mid-Atlantic Opportunity Park, would be located about 50 mi. east of Pittsburgh and in the dense northeast quadrant of the U.S., with its high concentration of people, businesses and air traffic.
The site has several attractive features. First, JST has a 7,000 ft. and a 4,400 ft. runway, which provide ample space for bringing in the narrowbodies and regional aircraft the center would support. The airport also has room for the 130-acre Opportunity Park dedicated to aviation and maintenance.
United Airlines, through its regional partner Skywest Airlines, now operates at Johnstown. Nearby St. Francis University has already partnered with Skywest on a Pilot Pathway Program to develop airline pilots with reimbursable tuition. The University was recently awarded $1 million by the Appalachian Regional Commission to launch an aviation maintenance technician school. And Pennsylvania has long had many established aviation mechanic training institutions, such as the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics and the Pennsylvania College of Technology.
The airport is close to one of the busiest freight and cargo highways in the U.S. and five miles from downtown Johnstown, with its rail connections.
There are also significant incentives provided by the state of Pennsylvania. The state government has designated the site as a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which means tax incentives will be available to encourage development, notes Larry Nulton, president of the Cambrian Hills Development Group. The group is partnering with the Johnstown Airport Authority to promote the Opportunity Park.
“The Opportunity Park will enjoy tax exemptions, reductions or credits in corporate taxes, franchise taxes, financial institution taxes, income taxes and real estate taxes,” Nulton says. “In addition, most purchases of items subject to sales and use taxes will be exempt from state and local sales and use taxes for property used, consumed and utilized in the zone.”
Furthermore, a local state senator has co-authored legislation, passed by the Pennsylvania Senate and pending in the House, that would further incentive businesses. If passed, it would create an Airport Land Development Zone that would give businesses that create new jobs at the airport a $2,100 per job tax credit annually for 10 years.
Nulton envisions a development that is anchored by a state-of-the-art MRO facility, complemented by additional tenants, such as part suppliers and paint shops. The project does not have an MRO committed yet, but Nulton says, “We are working closely with the airport, real estate groups and other partners to identify the perfect fit.”
Nulton says the perfect fit would be an MRO that supports narrowbody aircraft like the Airbus A320 family, regional jets and corporate aircraft. He expects construction of the park to start in spring 2023 and the park to open in fall 2024.
The general economic background appears to be favorable to mixed. The mean annual wage for Pittsburgh metropolitan area aircraft mechanics in 2021 was $63,270, more than $2,000 less than the national average.
The Tax Foundation ranks Pennsylvania 33rd among U.S. states in its business tax climate, but most states in the dense northeast are ranked even lower. Presumably, state tax policy would matter when development incentives expire.
Nulton says Johnstown’s local business climate is very friendly to large businesses that offer well-paying jobs. “The governor funded a new fixed base operator building to welcome business leaders to Johnstown at the airport. The airport authority board worked hard to get a commercial airline at Johnstown in SkyWest Airlines,” he says.
