On Thursday, Nov. 20, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hold a public hearing and then vote on whether to support an economic development proposal that would bring the headquarters of Eastern Air Express, LLC from Kansas City to Greensboro.
The item comes with a potential $500,000 state building reuse grant and the promise of dozens of high-paying aviation jobs at Piedmont Triad International Airport – which has been killing it lately when it comes to job creation.
The project is one of the more sizable aviation expansions proposed at PTI in recent years. Eastern Air Express is an aviation company that operates domestic and international charter passenger and cargo flights.
The company is currently based at Kansas City International Airport, where it has a group of 58 employees made up of five mechanics and 53 office and administrative staff. Under the plan the commissioners will consider (read: approve), that entire Kansas City team would relocate to Guilford County.
Eastern Air Express also employs 54 full-time and 65 part-time workers in Miami, one full-time employee in Youngstown, Ohio, and seven full-time employees in Texas, along with seven who are already based in Greensboro.
In addition to moving the Kansas City operation here, the company intends to add roughly 30 mechanics to its maintenance workforce at PTI.
All told, the projected Greensboro headcount would come in at somewhere between 99 and 122 jobs, depending on final staffing and the timing of the relocations.
The company estimates it will create 50 new jobs over the next two years with a very specific average annual wage of $101,836.07. For comparison, the average private sector wage in Guilford County in 2025 is $60,195 according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
The company covers 64 percent of employee health benefits.
The plan centers on an 84,227-square-foot airport facility at 7306 W. Market Street.
That building is owned by the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority and is described as a large hangar with inventory storage, direct airside access and room for a single narrow-body aircraft. County documents state that the structure is in deteriorating condition and requires significant work before it can support the company’s full operations.
Renovations would include roof repair or replacement, construction of new office space, repair of the large hangar door, expanded and repaved parking areas, retaining wall improvements, walkway reconstruction and complete interior and exterior repainting.
The total construction cost is listed at, again, a very specific $3,900,449.93.
Any improvements made with the grant funds would stay with the Airport Authority should the company ever vacate the building.
The program requires a 5 percent local match. If the state approves the maximum $500,000 request, Guilford County would need to contribute $25,000.
County staff emphasize that there’s no immediate budget impact because the grant has not yet been approved by the state. The funds, if awarded, would flow through the county as a forgivable loan and would then be reimbursed to the property owner after state review and performance verification.
The Airport Authority would be the recipient of the funds since it owns the building.
The commissioners will also be asked to adopt a resolution in support of the grant application. If the state approves, county staff would return with a budget amendment at a later meeting. The action on Thursday night wouldn’t obligate any new county funds beyond the required match if the grant is awarded.
Public hearing rules for the evening are the standard ones: Proponents will be heard first for a total of 20 minutes regardless of how many people choose to speak. Opponents will then have up to 20 minutes as well and each side will have three minutes for rebuttal.
Supporters of the proposal are likely to point to the high wages, the long-term commitment to the airport campus, and the project’s fit within the region’s growing aviation sector. In recent years, PTI has attracted major aerospace and maintenance operations, and county leaders have repeatedly said that the airport’s development capacity is one of Guilford County’s strongest economic assets.
In these types of public hearings, rarely does anyone come to speak against a project. But skeptics, if any speak at the hearing, may ask about the long-term stability of the company, the nearly $4 million price tag to rehabilitate the building, and whether the public investment is justified for a project that involves relocating employees rather than creating all new jobs.
The vote will take place immediately following the public hearing. The board is expected to approve the item, but public hearings on economic development matters are a legal requirement, so commissioners won’t make it official until everyone who wants to speak has had their say.
