Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the control tower at Columbus Municipal Airport in Columbus, Ind., pictured Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Plans for a new Indiana National Guard facility at Columbus Municipal Airport are progressing.
The Columbus Board of Aviation Commissioners has approved a lease for the guard’s existing Columbus armory, as well as some additional property. According to Airport Director Brian Payne, this includes land immediately to the west of the armory up to the airport fence.
The armory is located on airport property at 2160 Arnold St. Indiana National Guard Spokesman Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry said in October that the plan is to build an equipment repair shop on armory land “with a small alteration.”
The approximately $6 million project is scheduled for federal fiscal year 2024 and is part of a 20-year modernization plan to improve facilities around the state.
According to Payne, the lease was discussed at a previous board meeting in November but was tabled so that the there could be further discussion with the Indiana National Guard regarding the project’s location. This has since occurred, with airport officials suggesting that the development be located on the airport’s west apron, which is near the guard’s parachute rigging unit, rather than near the armory.
However, Payne said that airport officials have found that their concerns about the armory location are not as significant as previously thought, and the national guard continues to prefer this site.
“They very much feel that the armory location is the location that would be best for them,” said Payne. “They have money allocated on the federal side for a new parachute rigging unit to be built in that location, as well as going to the state for state funding on improvements of the armory itself, both exterior and interior as well as some parking and additional structures around that area.”
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
