As a plane flies out of Gary/Chicago Airport, a UPS 767 freighter sits on the tarmac as a beacon of hope.
State and local leaders gathered Tuesday to celebrate the kickoff of a 55-acre air cargo campus at the city’s airport. The $24 million investment is expected to expand air cargo operations in Gary and support economic development across Northwest Indiana.
“If there is one thing Gary knows how to do, it’s how to recover and keep our momentum focused on moving forward,” Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said, referencing last month’s storms that wreaked damage across the region and left hundreds of thousands without power. “The damage we endured did not break our spirits, and it certainly did not stop our progress.”
Nearly a month after the storm, the city has welcomed several economic developments, including the new air cargo facility.
The project builds on a five-year agreement the airport entered into with UPS in November 2020, allowing the company to begin cargo service in Gary. Since then, airport officials have worked to extend the cargo service through at least 2040.
Previous investments at the airport include extending the runway to 9,000 feet, opening a U.S. Customs facility, and building a 40,000-square-foot aviation hangar.
“This investment positions the Gary/Chicago International Airport for continued growth and strengthens our airport to support commerce, job creation, and economic development throughout the region for decades to come,” said Dan Vicari, the airport’s executive director.
Other airport upgrades include the installation of a Jet-A fuel pipeline, a new sanitary sewer system for cargo facilities, a de-icing facility, and a new cargo logistics apron, which will give aircraft a place to park and unload without disrupting other airport operations.
The project was funded through state and federal funding, including $13 million from the Federal Aviation Administration, $10 million from the state of Indiana, and $1 million from the Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative.
“Gary is worth fighting for,” said 1st District U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, who helped secure funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. “The residents who have sustained growth and decline in the city of Gary and who have stuck it out are seeing progress.”
The expansion enables the airport to accommodate up to eight wide-body aircraft at a time. A single UPS freighter can carry upwards of 20,000 packages with a combined weight of 132,000 pounds.
The air cargo campus is only 2,000 feet away from the new $60 million FedEx facility now under construction. That project is slated to be completed in 2027.
“It’s one new piece of a major component of Gary’s comeback story,” Melton said.
