Sky Harbor breaks ground on 300,000‑square‑foot hangar campus at Chicago Executive Airport

Sky Harbor held a ceremonial groundbreaking at Chicago Executive Airport on Monday for a new 300,000‑square‑foot hangar campus that company and local officials say will be a major addition to the airport and surrounding communities.

"This is a milestone moment for Sky Harbor, for Chicago Executive Airport, and for the communities of Prospect Heights and Village of Wheeling," said Eric Saltman, Senior Vice President of Sky Harbor, during opening remarks. Saltman said the airport supports "thousands of local jobs" and generates "hundreds of millions of dollars" in annual economic output.

The Village of Wheeling’s president, Pat Horcher, described the hangar as likely the village’s largest building to date, giving a specific footprint and capacity: "300,000 sq ft. It's going to have a capacity of 20 or so private corporate jets," she said. Horcher said the project builds on prior investments around the airport and will further encourage reinvestment.

Chicago Executive Airport’s executive director said the site presented multiple challenges — including stormwater mitigation, nearby Cook County Forest Preserve constraints and the need to resolve municipal boundary issues — but praised the cooperation among Sky Harbor, the airport and local governments in getting the project permitted and underway. He said he expects the project team to return for a ribbon‑cutting in roughly a year.

Tal Keinan, Sky Harbor’s chairman and chief executive, thanked local leaders and the airport staff and urged community members to view Sky Harbor as a new neighbor and partner. The ceremonial program concluded with speakers and staff preparing for the symbolic dirt‑throwing.

Next steps discussed at the ceremony included continued coordination among Sky Harbor, Chicago Executive Airport and municipal partners on infrastructure (water and sewer) and stormwater mitigation; no formal local permits or financing actions were announced at the event.