Airport Plans $10.5 Million Taxiway for New Cargo Facility

Crow Holdings’ South Cargo Logistics Hub proposal for Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. Rendering from CBRE.

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is pursuing a $10.5 million taxiway redevelopment in preparation for a massive new air cargo facility.

Dallas-based Crow Holdings, LLC is developing a $75 million, 337,000-square-foot facility in the Milwaukee Regional Business Park, located on the southwestern end of the airport. Construction on the facility is planned to begin in early 2026, and once finished it is expected to quadruple the airport’s cargo capacity, according to CBRE, the real estate firm that will market the finished property.

However, before any cargo planes can roll into the hangar the airport needs a new taxiway, one strong enough to accommodate the wide body Boeing 777-8F airplanes carrying cargo in and out of the facility. The airport bid out the taxiway project and is expecting it will cost $10.5 million, including the cost of building a new taxiway and strengthening the site pavement. Early plans for the project estimated the site needed repairs to approximately 16 acres of pavement.

The developer is providing the up-front funding to the county to construct the new taxiway. The county is going after approximately $6.6 million in federal grant funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $2.3 million in state funding. The developer is covering the county’s contribution to the grant and, once awarded, will be reimbursed with the federal and state funds, according to a report by Airport Director Brian Dranzik headed for the Milwaukee County Board.

The new facility is a public-private development project with Crow Holdings providing most of the financing, according to CBRE. Milwaukee County, which owns the airport, will provide the land to the firm through a ground lease. Once the lease is up, if the county wishes, all of the new infrastructure will become public property. The ground lease is expected to generate approximately $1.1 million annually for the airport.

Crow Holdings has already spent approximately $1.2 million conducting due diligence and planning the project, including the development of a remediation plan for PFAS contamination at the development site, which was formerly an airbase for the 440th Airlift Wing of the U.S. Air Force.

The unit was based in Milwaukee from the 1950s until 2008. A 2020 environmental investigation at the airport found PFAS chemical contamination on the site. The chemicals, which have been used in firefighting foams since the 1970s, are linked to increased risk for cancer and other health issues.

The new cargo facility will create an alternative to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago for businesses while still using the same carrier, cargo, handler, and freight forwarders. It will also be able to accommodate a variety of cargo, including pharmaceutical products, anything that needs cold storage, livestock and Class 1 cargo, which includes explosive materials.

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