Mott gift just the ticket for Bishop
$10 million spurs shipping hub, job prospects

By Marjory Raymer | The Flint Journal

A $10-million gift being announced today is expected to create hundreds of local jobs by getting a major new shipping facility off the ground at Bishop Airport.

Local officials have long talked about building a major shipping and distribution center in Flint. Those dreams - to build a so-called "intermodal hub" - are becoming a reality.

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation planned to announce today that it is pledging $10 million to the project - the amount that is still needed to build the $30-million to $35-million facility.

Analysts previously have estimated an intermodal center at Bishop could bring up to $12 billion in new business to the area.

The announcement is huge for Genesee County economic development efforts, Ed Donovan, senior vice president for economic development at the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce, said today.

"It's a great breakthrough, and the Mott Foundation needs to be given credit for showing the way," Donovan said. "The global economy is based on movement of goods, and when you unleash the capacity of Bishop Airport in this direction, you move Flint and Genesee County to the next level."

The hub is expected to double the amount of cargo Bishop Airport can handle and serve as the physical heart of a distribution network with hundreds of employees and 20 satellite distribution centers.

A new runway ramp will be built, as well as a facility to allow for easy transfer from planes to trucks for transport to businesses along the I-75 and I-69 corridors and beyond, or shipped on local rail lines.

Construction will begin in the spring, Airport Director James L. Rice II said.

The airport already has purchased most of about 15 acres on the north side of its property for the project, and the buildings are being designed.

While cargo is often overlooked by Bishop passengers looking only for a good parking spot, it has been a cornerstone of the airport's success in recent years - dependable even when airlines facing bankruptcy and a bad economy provided fewer frequent fliers.

"(Cargo) is probably as important, if not more important, than passenger service, because businesses depend on it," Rice said.

The project is based on a growing economic need: Businesses no longer keep large quantities of merchandise in stock and need a quick and efficient way to ship and receive products.

Less than a year ago, the intermodal project got its first funding - $2 million from the federal government - and took a baby step toward becoming a reality.

Since then the airport has amassed pledges to complete the project.
The Mott grant is the final large piece of the funding puzzle, which also includes $12.5 million from the airport itself as well as state and federal dollars.

The Mott Foundation has turned over $2.5 million to the airport, and the rest is expected over the next several years.

"I'm not sure what we would have done without the Mott Foundation. It may have taken us a lot of years to do this," Rice said.

The project also will include a new entry into the airport for the intermodal hub, which will replace the entry near Koegel Meats, as well as a storage facility.

Construction is scheduled to be finished in 2009.

This is the third time the Mott Foundation has written a check to the airport. The foundation gave it $450,000 in 1987 for construction of an air freight ramp, and another $6 million in 1991 to help in construction of the current passenger terminal.

"The Mott Foundation has had a long interest in spurring economic expansion in Flint and Genesee County by diversifying the regional economy, creating and retaining good jobs and expanding existing assets. This grant will help build the economic infrastructure needed to accomplish these goals," Mott Foundation President William S. White said in a statement.

Plans already are in the works for Phase 2.

After five or six years - with revenue from this project - the airport hopes to double the size of the intermodal center, Rice said.

Business demand for shipping has been increasing in recent years, putting Bishop Airport near its capacity.

Journal staff writer Matt Bach contributed to this report.

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