Waterloo Regional Airport

“Over the last number of years,” Kaspari informs, “we’ve done a number of development projects out here. I’m trying to keep up with Noel on his City side! With regard to tree removal, we did that across Dunkerton Road, which borders the north end of the airport grounds.” One runway benefitted from the removal of a the local business park: Waterloo Air and Rail Park. “We have a good relationship with Canadian National Rail out there,” says Hart.“Plus, we do have the spacing and the ability to design it for direct access to the taxiways and runways for aviation- related industries.” This new business park’s purpose is to make even greater use of the system of highways and railways that are near to the Waterloo Regional Airport and of course the latter’s runways. This 12-lot industrial park of some 400 acres is bordered on the west by the Waterloo city limits and Leversee Road and to the east by the airport runways. The City secured a release from the FAA to develop the land, and it earned a grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation to build a road. Anderson says there is much potential there for air development. It will also, he adds, be very attractive to potential businesses that might be interested in locating facilities in Waterloo. “I would say that we have land available there, from an economic development standpoint, for aviation- related industries,” says Anderson. “As Keith has noted, we have the runway lengths (meeting the requisites for corporate jets), and we have the design capabilities with our engineering group to help put companies out there that would better utilize our airport for commercial uses, as well as the current residential uses.” IT HAS IT ALL Hart emphasizes that Waterloo Regional offers both convenience and access to the entire world, thanks to its partnership with American Airlines. The Mayor also extols Livingston Aviation for its excellence in service. “We have an incredibly well-run airport,” says Hart. Kaspari cited the airport’s many ongoing development efforts, such as ObstructionMitigation (tree removal) for the approach end to Runway 18 (a common theme among many regional airports) and he lauds Anderson for his help. 7 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 12 WATERLOO REGIONAL AI RPORT