MILWAUKEE — Crow Holdings has broken ground on a new air cargo facility at the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE). The project will transform a significant portion of the former 440th Airlift Wing, now known as the MKE Regional Business Park, into a 337,000-square-foot air cargo facility featuring a dedicated air cargo building, a new Milwaukee County highway maintenance facility to support both county and state transportation needs and enhancements to adjacent taxiways to improve accessibility for wide-body cargo aircraft. The facility will have the capacity to accommodate five B747-400 aircraft at the same time and is expected to generate over $1.3 million in annual aircraft landing fees as well as over $1 million in annual ground lease rents and fees.
The former 440th campus was turned over to the airport in 2008. Since that time, the underutilized property has been marketed to developers. Some of the buildings are currently used by the airport while others have been leased to a variety of short-term tenants.
According to a news release, the public-private project will create new jobs at the airport and has the potential to attract new passenger airlines and destinations, as well as air cargo services, by lowering the overall operating cost for all airlines at MKE. Completion is slated for 2026.