[Wattleigh]

Houston Spaceport

Given the number of developments happening at the site, it might make more sense to put anything tied to that project in a separate thread at some point - but I'm placing it here for now since the Spaceport and Ellington Airport are part of the Houston Airport System.

Graphics from HAS from a December presentation.

Overall Site Plan



Academic Area and Hub Site for Multiple Institutions. TSU will have a standalone building that is highlighted.



TSU Facility





Aerospace Hub






https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/...Pos=3#cxrecs_s

Houston City Council approves agreement for Texas Southern University’s new Ellington Airport facility

By Sofia Gonzalez – Reporter, Houston Business Journal
May 3, 2023

Texas Southern University is one step closer to achieving its goal of expanding its aviation training program thanks to a memorandum of agreement between the university and the city of Houston.

The MOA, which is for the development and lease of an aviation education facility at Ellington Airport, was approved during a May 3 Houston City Council meeting. The Houston Airport System will design and construct an aeronautical hangar, which will contain aircraft storage capacity, offices and classroom space, according to the City Council agenda item.

“The goal, quite frankly, is to make Texas Southern the school in the country when it comes to aviation,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said during the meeting.

HAS will invest up to $5 million under a separate contract to develop the facility, per the agenda item. However, HAS will not begin construction until City Council approves the formal lease agreement. Under the lease's initial five-year term, HAS will charge TSU an annual rent of $60,000, or $5,000 per month. The Federal Aviation Administration allows the city to charge that reduced rate because TSU is an accredited university. TSU will also have right of first refusal to extend the lease term for an additional five years, but the university would be charged full market rate rent at that point.

Once complete, the facility will include 22,000 square feet of aircraft hangar space, 7,200 square feet of office and training/classroom space, 20,000 square feet of aircraft apron, an above-ground storage tank with capacity of approximately 12,000 gallons of aviation fuel, and vehicle parking. In total, the project will be constructed on approximately 2 acres of land that is accessible to an existing taxi-lane connector.

With the project, TSU will have the ability to “focus on meeting aviation and aeronautical workforce demands and fostering innovation,” the agenda item said.