Chicago Executive Airport (KPWK) and Sky Harbour Group have reached an agreement for the development of a Sky Harbour home base campus at the general aviation facility, the companies said Tuesday at NBAA-BACE. The contract calls for the development of some 25 acres in two phases, creating or sustaining hundreds of local jobs and generating as much as $550 million in economic benefit.

The new campus will join Sky Harbour campuses now operating at Houston Sugar Land Regional Airport, Nashville International Airport, and Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. SkyHarbour development projects also continue at Denver Centennial Airport, Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, and Dallas Addison Airport. The developer targets airfields in growth markets with significant aircraft populations and high hangar demand.

Sky Harbour v-p of real estate Eric Stolpman explained that Chicago Executive’s existing hangars operate at more than 100 percent capacity, making the need for more hangar space obvious. During the first phase of development, Sky Harbour will oversee the construction of seven or eight hangars and create 130,000 sq ft of hangar and office space.

“SkyHarbour brings unique and differentiated benefits to KPWK, to the communities of Prospect Heights and Wheeling, and to the Chicago area in general,” said Chicago Executive Airport board chairman Court Harris. “We value the company’s track record of delivering on its commitments and look forward to working together to enhance KPWK’s value, both to the local community and to the business aviation community.”

Chicago Executive serves as a top reliever airport for Chicago O’Hare International, accepting some 100,000 corporate, charter, and light recreational aircraft annually. Owned by the village of Wheeling and the city of Prospect Heights, it sits 10 miles north of O’Hare.