Sand Mountain Reporter

The Albertville Regional Airport has landed $1 million with the help of state Sen. Hinton Mitchem and state Rep. Frank McDaniel.

“I can’t imagine how much growth we are going to have and what this is really going to mean to initiate this growth,” Mitchem said.

The majority of the money, $475,000, will go to purchase additional land adjacent to the Albertville Aviation Training Facility and to expand the technology park at the airport.

There has been $300,000 set aside to build a new airport corporate hangar.

This money is in addition to the grant the city has already received to build a new corporate hangar.

According to Mayor Lindsey Lyons, this means the city may not have to borrow money in order to cover the matching funds for the hangar.

According to Airport Manager Jerry Cofield, “dirt could be moving shortly after the holidays” on the new hangar.

The remaining $225,000 will be used to buy classroom equipment for the aviation college, site preparation work at the technology park and the paving of the parking lot at the college.

“You can’t play down the importance of a million dollars,” Lyons said. “This is such a shot in the arm for Albertville.”

The mayor also said the money will allow the city to build, “the one thing any city needs but hardly any city has, an industrial spec building.”

According to Cofield, a speculative building will allow the city to start recruiting clients who would bring new industry into the area.

The improvement to the airport and aviation college is meant to target the growing job market in the aviation field and bring higher income jobs into the city.

“I believe with all my heart that the future of our area can be in aviation, if we want it to be McDaniel said.

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Serving Albertville and the Sand Mountain region

Publisher: Ben Shurett

1603 Progress Drive
Albertville, Alabama 35950

Tel: 256-840-3000 | Email

A Southern Newspapers publication.