Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane and aviation director Gary P Mascaro, on July 12, 2017, led the ceremonial groundbreaking event that would launch a $27,000,000 renovation and addition to the Scottsdale airport. Instead of using shovels the mayor featured a wall breaking, using sledgehammers.
The design for the new terminal and office space will include a Stearman PT – 17 pre-World War II era biplane. The significance of this is that those biplanes trained at the airport when it was first built 75 years ago. There will be meeting rooms, a new restaurant he Thunderbird to Veterans Memorial Plaza, and spectacular scenery of the McDowell Mountains.
The private Scottsdale airport is the landing spot for top business executives all over the world. It is felt that it is important to make a highly upgraded and classy airport which will be many people’s 1st impression of Scottsdale the cost of this remodel will be financed through city- issued bonds. The bonds are expected to be repaid through a combination of business permits fees and lease agreements. The airport generated $536,000,000 in economic benefits, according to the city between 2014 and 2015. In 2016 the airport handled 164,000 landings and departures.