Quote:
My prediction is Chicago becomes the junior base, Orlando mid seniority and Denver becomes the senior base (duh). I think a fair number of Chicago guys will leave for Orlando, and the company will have to backfill Chicago crews. The Chicago captain bid will go quite junior.
Whatever happens, there is a ton of growth planned and lots of hiring and upgrades. Perhaps the million dollar question will be if the company displaces crews out of Denver and shrinks the base???
Also, what's the easier commute from Denver, Chicago or Orlando?
You're probably right about crew movement Aero, but I'm waiting to see what kind of show management's spectacular execution on this plan brings.Originally Posted by Aero1900
I'm going to be very curious to see how many Denver captains actually leave for Orlando. I keep hearing guys say "lots of the senior guys are going to leave", but I really don't see more than just a few going. My prediction is Chicago becomes the junior base, Orlando mid seniority and Denver becomes the senior base (duh). I think a fair number of Chicago guys will leave for Orlando, and the company will have to backfill Chicago crews. The Chicago captain bid will go quite junior.
Whatever happens, there is a ton of growth planned and lots of hiring and upgrades. Perhaps the million dollar question will be if the company displaces crews out of Denver and shrinks the base???
Also, what's the easier commute from Denver, Chicago or Orlando?
And IDK if DEN plans are written in stone with the new "Airport City", and associated tax ratables, finally gaining traction with Aurora and Adams County - which could bring down the burden on the airlines' enplanement costs:
Deal reached to clear the way for DIA business development
Jun 3, 2015, 11:42am MDT Updated: Jun 3, 2015, 5:08pm MDT
Kathleen Lavine / Denver Business Journal
The DIA tents.
Cathy ProctorReporter- Denver Business Journal Email | Facebook | Twitter
Officials of Adams County and cities near Denver International Airport have agreed to a deal that would allow Denver to proceed with plans to develop non-aviation businesses on the airport grounds.
Denver has been at odds for years with neighboring communities over its ambitious "Airport City" development plans.
Wednesday, the Airport Coordinating Council (ACC), a committee made up of representatives from Adams County, Aurora and other communities near DIA, voted unanimously in favor of amending a 1988 agreement with the city of Denver that allowed Denver to annex the land for the airport and build it.
See Also
- DIA20: Denver, neighboring communities debate 'Airport City'
- DIA20: The complete DBJ special report on Denver International Airport
> Download terms of the new agreement here.
Now the issue will go to the Denver City Council and Adams County Commissioners for approval. Voters in Denver and Adams County also must give their OK, just as voters in the two jurisdictions approved the annexation of 53 square miles of Adams County into Denver in 1988.
For Denver, which previously had insisted it had the right to develop the airport grounds, the agreement means development can move forward without a cloud of uncertainty or the threat of litigation.
"I'm proud that we're here at this historic moment," said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock at a news conference immediately following Wednesday's vote.
"We acknowledge that we come together best as a region, and not as individual cities," he said.
Said Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, as he was voting in favor of the agreement: "Anyone who suggests that metropolitan cooperation doesn't exist in this area anymore is flat-dead wrong. This is a perfect example of what we can and should do."
He urged Aurora voters who live in Adams County to vote yes on the agreement.
"This is the kind of agreement that can make the entire metropolitan area the success that it can be. We know we have the engine -- DIA is the engine -- now is the time to take advantage of it," Hogan said.
The agreement covers a total of 1,500 acres of airport land that's available for development out of DIA's total 9,400 acres.
It creates a pilot program on DIA to allow a "wider spectrum of commercial uses” than currently permitted under the 1988 agreement. The 1,500 acres isn't contiguous, but represents a total amount of land that can be developed under the deal.
The pilot program allows uses such as retail, office parks, warehouses, and manufacturing on the 1,500 acres — “even if they are not directly related to airport operations or aviation,” according to a statement issued after Wednesday's vote.
Adams County and Denver will “evenly split” tax revenues generated from the commercial uses on the 1,500 acres.
T he ACC members have created a formula to divvy up their portion of the revenues, with Adams County, Aurora and Commerce City each getting 27 percent of the communities' share. Brighton and Thornton each would get 5 percent, with 1.1 percent of the money going to Federal Heights under the agreement.
The ACC itself would retain 7.9 percent of the communities' share of the tax revenues, to help pay for marketing the DIA area and the region with Denver, as well as possibly planning and building other infrastructure.
Denver also will provide an upfront payment of $10 million to the other jurisdictions. And DIA will retain all the lease revenue from the new commercial businesses.The 1,500 acres can be expanded if the coordinating council agrees.Denver and Adams County communities will create a regional entity to jointly market the new area, and possibly plan, fund and develop regional infrastructure.
Land-use restrictions also will be lifted on property on the edges of the airport initially intended to be a buffer between DIA and surrounding communities.
Under the deal, DIA would not seek new commercial businesses that would compete with the nearby Anschutz Medical Campus and Fitzsimons Innovation Campus in Aurora.
Hancock, who unveiled the Airport City proposal in 2012, has called the development of unused land at DIA “the greatest opportunity we have for the entire region for the next 30 to 50 years.”
The airport-grounds development debate is separate from the ongoing "Aerotropolis" initiative to develop land outside the city limits near the airport, on which there's more agreement between Denver and its neighbors.
Cary Kennedy, Denver's deputy mayor and CFO, said the total dollar value of the development on the 1,500 acres that's part of the deal could be between $170 million and $260 million over the first 30 years of
development. [That's almost more than Colorado pot sales!]
That money, mostly from property and sales taxes, plus Denver's "head" tax on employees working within its boundaries, would then be split 50-50 between Denver and the surrounding communities.
Erik Hansen, an Adams County Commissioner and chairman of the Airport Coordinating Committee, said the 50 percent split of the tax money "seemed like it was fair."
Many of the comments Wednesday focused on the theme of regionalism and working together.
"We are all in this together, we're in this as a community and we all should be proud of the work that we did," Hansen said of the years of negotiations and the agreement that resulted.
Hancock said he'll encourage Denver voters to approve the agreement, because "this is about jobs and economic development."
Deal reached to clear the way for Denver airport business development - Denver Business Journal