Feb. 19–The company operating the McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport might have finally found a way to get something it has wanted for a long time.

It is partnering with a private investor to build a terminal and hotel, to be connected by a walkway, at the island airport.

Nearly nine years since the idea was first introduced, representatives of Golden Isles Aviation and MMI Hospitality unveiled the proposal during a meeting of the Glynn County Airport Commission Tuesday.

MMI Hospitality would be responsible for the $15 million cost of the two structures.

“It’s a creative, marvelous concept,” Larry Wade, president of Golden Isles Aviation, told the airport commission. “This would be a first. It would definitely create a stir in the aviation community.”

Wade said the idea behind the project is to provide a greater customer service experience for airport guests.

The project is planned for a 70,000 square foot area northeast of Rich SeaPak.

The hotel, which planners hope will be a major brand, would include a pool, restaurant, fitness center and 86 rooms.

Customers would include pilots in town for the day or overnight, Wade said.

The hope, he said, is to attract aviation-related meetings and “bring a tremendous amount of value” to the airport.

MMI Hospitality President Gaines Sturdivant said developers estimate about 40 new hotel jobs would be generated, along with $325,000 in annual sales and hotel/motel tax revenue for Glynn County.

Wade said the airport commission’s real estate committee had raised concerns about parking for the site, but plans call for 16 more spaces than that section of the airport has seen at its busiest. The 104 spaces provided for the hotel meet the county’s code for parking spaces, he added.

Other concerns about the project’s zoning, land use, height and feasibility were addressed in previous plans for the project, Wade said.

“In my heart of hearts, I think this is a win-win-win situation,” Wade said.

The commission gave Golden Isles Aviation and MMI Hospitality its approval to move forward with the project’s development, which will next involve lease negotiations.

Sturdivant said an announcement of the hotel’s brand is forthcoming.

Here are three more things to know about the airport commission’s meeting:

The commission increased its capital expenditures. The airport commission voted unanimously to pull $33,000 from its reserves to cover new capital expenditures. The new capital purchases include the replacement of maintenance vehicles, an update to the commission’s master plan, the replacement of an airfield mower, and a land use concept and development plan for the island airport.

The Brunswick Golden Isles Airport Runway Rehabilitation project is nearing completion. Though cold weather delayed the runway from being reopened at its full length by a couple of days, Airport Commission Director Robert Burr said the project is still on path to a late March completion. Next up is allowing the pavement to cure before adding grooves to the runway.

The airport commission voted to match Glynn County government’s rate of cellphone reimbursement. Airport commission employees will be reimbursed up to $45 a month for cellphone use, up to $40 for calls, and another $5 per month for text messaging. The unanimous vote matches the amount paid out by Glynn County government to its employees.

— Reporter Kelly Quimby writes about government and other local topics. Contact her at kquimby@thebrunswicknews.com, or at 265-8320, ext. 321.