Business View Magazine September 2018

190 191 airports in the region,” he states. “It’s really making sure that St. Paul Downtown Airport has the services, facilities, and infrastructure to at- tract general and business aviation to enhance the safety and ef- ficiency of the MAC system of airports. So, we work closely with our stake- holders and commercial business partners, like FBOs and aircraft management companies, or those who own facilities at our airport. The rates, charges, and fees that we collect are well-connected to the services that we provide.We have struck a good balance with our users to make sure that we’re accountable for what they’re paying in land rent.” For many years, the Airport, which is located on the banks of the Mississippi River, had experi- enced periodic flooding, so, in 2007, MAC invested $50 million for the creation of a flood wall. “The flood wall was a tremendous undertaking and feat of engineering,” says Harris. “And since then, we have certainty that we can hold back high water. And, as business aviation has grown throughout the country, new in- ST. PAUL DOWNTOWN AIRPORT JOE HARRIS AIRPORT MANAGER, vestment has been injected into the Airport.We made a number of airfield improvements with the reconfiguration of multiple taxiways and runway reconstruction in 2016.We’ve had several lots available for hangar construction and pri- vate hangars are being built on these lots, which means more airplanes, activity and services at the Airport. And a restaurant, Holman’s Table, has opened in the historic 1939 terminal – it’s been nearly 20 years since we had one.” “The restaurant has been a tremendous success since it opened in January,” Harris continues. “Hol- man’s Table has given the airport an opportunity to connect and engage with the community; it gives the general public a reason to explore the Airport. Longtime St. Paul area residents might not even have known that the Airport existed. And now, we have a destination location for them to embark and interact with the airport com- munity by offering them a chance to peek under the covers of what’s happening at the Airport. It definitely has shed light on the history, value and diversity of the Airport. Another prospective project at the Airport, de- signed to serve the greater St. Paul community, is an educational initiative meant to inspire young people to pursue careers in aviation. “A former FedEx 727 was decommissioned and taken over by a non-profit group called The Learning Jet,”