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Jody Bryson, executive director of the Donaldson Center, credits the success of the facility to its prime location just off of I-85. (Photo by Paula Illingworth)
By Lydia Dishman
Contributing Writer
When presidential candidate Barack Obama flew to South Carolina for a stop on the campaign trail, his plane passed right by Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. Why? Because a more convenient, and discreet, air facility was available. That place was Donaldson Center Industrial Air Park.
Located just three miles off Interstate 85 in Greenville, the air park has an 8,000-foot runway capable of handling any size aircraft, even commercial aircraft. Peter Cevallos Jr., the airport’s manager, said Obama’s chartered plan was of a size comparable to a Boeing 737, which demanded a long runway.
“We are an FAA-certified airport. We had the right runway, a portable stair and a tower,” Executive Director Jody Bryson said, making it sound as though celebrity jets take off and land at Donaldson every day.
Donaldson Center handles more than 48,000 aircraft operations annually, acknowledging that the center been quietly going about its business for 40 years. And business is good.
Aircraft maintenance and modification are the main operations at the 1,400-acre airport, while the swath of 1,200 acres surrounding it is zoned industrial, Cevallos said. Capitalizing on a trend that continues to grow, Donaldson’s mix of industrial, commercial and aviation in a designated “park” has served businesses requiring direct access to airport infrastructure and provided a place for general industrial development. Currently, 80 businesses, which include Lockheed Martin and 3M, call the park home.
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