Contegra completes West Star Aviation expansion in East Alton

By Managing Editor | October 7, 2024 |

An exterior shot of West Star’s completed expansion.

West Star Aviation is now serving the aircraft industry with an expanded maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in East Alton, Ill. Contegra Construction Co. led a design/build team that completed the three-building, 76,000-square-foot expansion that grows West Star’s service facility and headquarters to more than 500,000 square feet. The expansion is projected to create 60 to 80 jobs over the next two years.

According to consulting firm Oliver Wyman, the MRO sector is tracking with the growth of commercial aviation: “2024 will be the first year of real growth since the peak reached just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the latest edition of the Global Fleet and MRO Market Forecast 2024-2034, the size of the global fleet will increase 28% over the next 10 years, expanding from today’s 28,400 aircraft to 36,400 by 2034. The former peak was 27,800.” The MRO sector “will grow almost 3% in 2024, reaching $104 billion, and expand 1.8% annually on average through 2034.”

Located at the St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) at 2 Airline Court, the 13-month expansion project adds 50,000 square feet of new hangar capacity, 13,000 square feet of additional back shop space, and 13,000 square feet of additional storage space. It also includes 165 parking spaces. All three buildings are pre-engineered, topped by a metal roof and feature Kalwall translucent daylighting. The hanger doors are two-hundred-feet wide. Utility improvements have been made for all three buildings.

Contegra has partnered with West Star Aviation on three hanger projects in the past 10 years.

In addition to its primary facilities in East Alton, Ill., Grand Junction, Colo., Chattanooga, Tenn., Perryville, Mo., Statesville, N.C., and Millville, N.J., West Star Aviation also maintains satellite facilities at Chicago Executive Airport in Chicago, Centennial Airport in Denver, Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport in Houston, Texas, Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport in Minneapolis, Minn., Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The company also provides complete FBO services for transient aircraft at its East Alton and Grand Junction facilities, as well as AOG/MRT services worldwide. West Star Aviation is an industry leader in technical experience and expertise while providing world-class customer services in all the organization’s divisions. For more information visit www.weststaraviation.com or call 800-922-2421.

Based in Edwardsville, Ill., Contegra is one of the St. Louis area’s largest general contractors and serves a national customer base that includes industrial, institutional, municipal, medical, multi-family, office and retail projects. Its capabilities include constructing developer and owner-driven buildings and site development. Learn more at www.contegracc.com.

Photos courtesy Contegra Construction Co.