Connolly Brothers Completes 40,000-Square-Foot Hangar for FlightLevel Aviation at Beverly Regional Airport
Why It MattersPrivate FBO hangar builds at busy general aviation airports hinge on permitting, zoning and keeping live airfield operations running, making delivery on schedule as much a logistics feat as a construction one.
What happened
Connolly Brothers Inc. has completed a new 40,000-square-foot aircraft hangar for FlightLevel Aviation at Beverly Regional Airport (BVY) in Danvers, Massachusetts. The ground-up design-build project adds aircraft storage capacity for the private fixed base operator, which sits at the airport's west entrance.
The pre-engineered building is designed to accommodate two private aircraft with wingspans of up to 104 feet. It includes infrared heating, high-bay lighting, restroom facilities, storage areas and dedicated electrical rooms. The work also covered extensive sitework and a comprehensive mechanical, electrical and plumbing package that includes a fire pump system.
Connolly Brothers served as both architect of record and construction manager, and D&D Electrical Contractors Inc. was also part of the project team. Construction had to be coordinated around daily activity at Beverly Regional, which is one of Massachusetts' busiest municipal general aviation airports. Connolly Brothers described a lengthy and complex permitting and zoning process and said close collaboration among the construction team, airport stakeholders and other participants was needed to finish without disrupting airport activity.
Jay Connolly, president and CEO of Connolly Brothers, said the coordination and logistical demands were significant. FlightLevel Aviation CEO Peter Eichleay called the contractor an exceptional business partner that exceeded expectations through on-time delivery of the hangar, and both executives said they hope to work together on future projects. FlightLevel Aviation is now seeking prospective users for the new hangar space.
Industry impact & what to watch
A hangar sized for two aircraft with wingspans up to 104 feet points at the large-cabin end of private aviation, where each airframe needs far more covered space than a light jet. For an FBO, that kind of space is a revenue line in its own right, and building it on a busy municipal field means the real constraints are approvals and airfield access rather than steel and concrete.
The account of a long permitting and zoning process, and of work sequenced so that daily operations continued, reflects how these projects generally go at active general aviation airports. Contractors who can combine design and construction management under one roof, as Connolly Brothers did here, take on much of that coordination risk, and on-time delivery in that setting is a meaningful outcome in itself.
The next milestone is commercial: FlightLevel Aviation is now looking for users to fill the space, and who takes it up will show how much demand there is at Beverly Regional for hangar room of this size.
