Lifting an airport with horse power
THE Roy Horse lovers and politicians have come up with a plan to bring more business to Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia – but it involves passengers of the four-legged, not twolegged, variety.
They want an animal quarantine centre built at the airport. They say Dulles’ proximity to Loudoun and Fauquier counties, where all things equestrian are big business, make it an ideal location to house horses and other animals that must be quarantined and tested before they can be released to stay or compete in the United States.
The idea is more than just talk. Officials in both counties have spent $60,000 for a feasibility study. The study isn’t expected to be completed until late January, but Miles Friedman, Fauquier’s economic development director, said preliminary results are promising.
Equine activities are big business in Loudoun, home to more horses than any other county in Virginia.
“The horse business in Virginia is huge,” said Keith W Meurlin, president of the Washington Airports Task Force, a nonprofit group focused on supporting the region’s airports, and a key backer of the quarantine centre.
Great Meadow, an event centre in Fauquier County, for example, hosts the Virginia Gold Cup and the International Gold Cup, steeplechase races that are among the biggest outdoor social events in the state. The Upperville Colt and Horse Show is the oldest such show in America.
Kellie Hinkle, Loudoun County’s agricultural development officer, said a 2015 study by the University of Virginia found that Loudoun’s $180 million equine industry supports 27,000 jobs. According to that study, 14,452 horses reside in Loudoun.
“The key is location,” Hin- kle said, adding that Dulles has available land. “And it fits with the desire to increase cargo at Dulles.”
If built, the facility would be the third of its kind on the East Coast. The others are in New York and Miami, which backers of the Dulles plan said can mean a lengthy drive for animal owners or competitors headed to Mid-Atlantic venues.
“It’s really stressful on investment-quality horses to have to go through an eight- or ninehour flight, two or three days in quarantine and hours on a trailer trying to get out of [New York],” said Rob Banner, president of the Great Meadow Foundation, in The Plains, Virginia.
Banner, a proponent of the plan for Dulles, said a facility would boost the region’s profile and could help it attract more international attention.
“It’s the missing piece for us to be able to take the competition circuit to the next level,” he said. Should the region make another bid for the Summer Olympic Games, having such a facility in the area could be a major selling point, he added.
Fauquier’s Friedman said the value goes beyond Virginia.
“It’s a niche that Dulles is ideal for, because when you consider it, you have not just two counties, but you also have a thriving horse industry in Maryland. There’s North Carolina, as well, and then as you move into the interior – even Kentucky. Dulles is going to be a lot closer than New York.”
Officials with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which manages Dulles and Reagan National airports, have just begun envisioning possibilities for what to build on a 171-hectare parcel dubbed the “Western Lands.” In 2015, MWAA announced it would accept unsolicited bids for what to build on the property.
In 2012, MWAA negotiated changes in its lease with the federal government allowing for a broader array of com- mercial activities on airportcontrolled property. Previously, development had to be for airport purposes only.
MWAA spokesman Rob Yingling said officials are open to the idea of an animal quarantine facility, but he emphasised that the plans are in the very early stages
“We’re aware of the proposal,” Yingling said. “Long term, we are looking for land uses that are compatible with the airport.”
Supporters say the facility could be a good match for the airport, which has struggled to increase its cargo traffic.
And unlike National, where there is little room for expansion, there’s plenty of room to grow at Dulles. The plan would also dovetail well with MWAA’s efforts to generate money from nonaeronautical activities.
Yingling said that next spring, MWAA’s board of directors is expected to be briefed on a plan to market the Western Lands for development.
Such a deal could be lucrative. Early next year, the ARK, which is billed as “the world’s first privately owned animal handling and cargo facility and quarantine center,” will open at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport on a parcel of land that had been vacant for almost a decade. The $48 million project is expected to create 150 jobs and generate $108 million in rent for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the airport.
Developers of that facility said they have been contacted about the possibility of developing a similar centre at Dulles, but they say conversations are very preliminary.
Hinkle noted that the project wouldn’t happen overnight. In the best of scenarios, it could take 2½ years for it to be completed.
Still, she is enthusiastic about the concept.
Said Hinkle: “We think makes sense.” it