Work has begun on a $2.7 million terminal for McAlester Regional Airport (KMLC) in Oklahoma.
The 4,500-square-foot terminal is being built in the same place where the previous 2,500-foot-square terminal stood. The old terminal has already been demolished.
Construction is expected to take about a year. During that time, airport officials will operate from another building on the airport.
The $2.7 million project is made possible through federal, state, city, and tribal grants, according to officials, who say the breakdown includes:
- FAA: $919,307
- Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission: $869,880
- City of McAlester: $972,028
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is donating $250,000 to the city of McAlester through the Choctaw Nation Development Fund to assist with the project.
According to city officials, the new airport terminal will contain items relating to the Choctaw culture.
“This is such a great opportunity for Choctaw Nation to work with the City of McAlester. One of our slogans is ‘Together we’re more,’ and this is a great example of that,” District 11 Councilman Robert Karr said. “By investing in the new airport terminal, Choctaw Nation is empowering the region to seize economic advantages. Economic development is what this city needs and what Southeastern Oklahoma needs, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
The Choctaw Nation has garnered national attention for its drone research, and the Department of Advanced Technology Initiatives (ATI) is based just 30 minutes from McAlester. The department’s five-year plan includes completing the Emerging Aviation Technology Center, creating aviation corridors within Choctaw Nation, and establishing advanced technology companies in the region. These collective efforts will further spur economic development in the region, bringing in new businesses and jobs, according to officials with the Choctaw Nation.
The airport will play a critical role in the region’s ability to grow and develop in the way ATI envisions it, they added.
“Aviation aerospace is what we hope to be our state’s No. 1 industry in the next 10 years,” Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission Executive Director Grayson Ardies said. “At McAlester, what you’re doing today in breaking ground is securing your legacy in the aviation aerospace industry for the next half century.”
The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest Indian Nation in the United States with more than 212,000 tribal members and 12,000-plus associates. The first tribe over the Trail of Tears, its historic reservation boundaries are in the southeast corner of Oklahoma, covering 10,923 square miles.