Helicopter Operations To Return to Downtown Chicago

Helicopter Operations To Return to Downtown Chicago by Paul Pitts | The JetAv Blog.

Aviation Facilities Company, Inc. (AFCO) has announced that AFCO Nighthawk Vertiport LLC, a joint venture between AFCO and Nighthawk Services LLC, has been selected by the Illinois Medical District Commission (IMD) to develop a vertiport/heliport, on a 10-acre site in the Illinois Medical District, located on the West Side of the City of Chicago.

The project will consist of touchdown, liftoff and aircraft parking areas as well as a fixed-base operation that will include a terminal, hangars, fuel, maintenance and other storage facilities, vehicle parking and an access control system. The project will serve the needs of emergency medical helicopter operations along with corporate and charter activity. The project is also being designed to accommodate a new generation of tiltrotor helicopters.

The Illinois Medical District is the nation’s largest urban medical district and includes 560 acres of medical research facilities, labs, a biotech business incubator, raw development area, universities and over 40 healthcare related facilities. The district is home to the Rush University Medical Center, University of Illinois Medical Center, Cook County Bureau of Health Services and the Veterans Administration Healthcare System and houses 2,200 hospital beds, has 20,000 employees and receives over 75,000 visitors daily.

Subject to final approval of the development and lease agreement by the IMD, construction is expected to begin in early 2012 with completion in early 2013. The project is estimated to cost approximately $10 million.

Heliports used to be located all over Chicago for a glimpse at history see the linked article: http://jetav.com/rotorcraft-news-storyboard-2/

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