Business View Magazine | March 2020

213 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MARCH 2020 all accessible by rail. “Also, we’re very centrally located,” Hauser adds. “We’re within 200 miles of Louisville, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and Nashville, with very long runways and a lot of ramp spaces. And we’re easy to get in and out of.” A new Airport Gateway Development Plan aims to develop the Airport’s east side because of its proximity to the State Road 46/U.S. Highway 40 corridor. This past November, the Airport Authority hired airport consultant, Newhouse & Associates, to review commercial development of the corridor. “The east side is starting to grow quickly,” says Hauser. “It was just announced that a new casino, an affiliation of Hard Rock, is going in, next year, and it’s almost at the end or our runway. So, we’re starting to get a lot of interest on this side, which generates more economic development for the Airport area.” The challenge for the Airport, as it actively solicits new tenants, is having enough places to put them. “We need more buildings to bring more people in. We are so full, right now, and it takes so long to get the infrastructure built,” Hauser laments. “We have to have a plan about how we’re going to get our structures and buildings up in quick time. Most businesses, today, want to know about your workforce and if you have an existing building, or how quick you can get one up. So, we’re working on those areas.” The Terre Haute International Airport has been a regional landmark for nearly 80 years, and in 2017, it was named the Indiana Airport of the Year. But Jeff Hauser believes that its best years are yet to come. THE TERRE HAUTE REGIONAL A I RPORT