COLFAX – Today, during the Port of Whitman County’s regular Commission Meeting, Port staff announced the award of a $1.2 million loan from the Washington State Department of Transportation to fund utility improvements, site development, and hangar construction at the Port of Whitman Business Air Center. 

Washington State Department of Transportation’s Community Aviation Revitalization Board (CARB) revolving loan program will fund the project. The program supports public-use general aviation airports in becoming self-sustainable and funds revenue-producing capital projects. 

“We are grateful for the Community Aviation Revitalization Board for partnering with the Port on this project,” said Port Commission President Tom Kammerzell. “This loan will allow us to improve infrastructure at the Port of Whitman Business Air Center and develop additional hangar areas to support pilots and other future users.” 

The $1.2 million loan will finance improvements at the Port of Whitman Business Air Center, including paving a section of the taxiway, constructing one new Port-owned hangar, and creating site-ready areas for up to nineteen additional hangars, to be constructed by tenants. 

The Port anticipates design and permitting will be completed in 2025 and construction will begin in 2026.

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About the Port of Whitman County
The Port of Whitman County is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Whitman County through industrial real estate development, preservation of multi-modal transportation, facilitation of economic development and provision of on-water recreational opportunities. 

About the Port of Whitman Business Air Center
The Port of Whitman Business Air Center is a general aviation airport and industrial park located three and a half miles southwest of Colfax. The site features t-hangars, private hangars, and Port-owned pole buildings, and hosts a variety of tenants and occupants spanning aviation to green hydrogen to agriculture. In 2022, economic contributions from entrepreneurial firms at the Port of Whitman Business Air Center totaled $7.78 million in sales and employed 47 people.