Horace Williams Airport’s days may be numbered.

The airport, which is owned and operated by UNC, has been in the crosshairs of administrators for more than a decade. And the UNC Board of Trustees Finance, Infrastructure and Audit committee is set to discuss the future of the airport on Wednesday afternoon.

UNC community relations director Linda Convissor wrote to Chapel Hill town manager Roger Stancil in a recent email that UNC’s “interest in closing the airport is due to the substantial operating losses sustained since the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) relocated to RDU in 2011.”

Convissor added that the facility needs “more than $1 million” in repairs to continue operation.

The airport is located near the Carolina North campus and several Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools. But Convissor wrote that there are “no plans for any significant development on the airport property or generally at Carolina North.”

Those plans, the correspondence continued, would be part of the master planning process for “Carolina North, main campus, Mason Farm and other UNC properties,” which is scheduled to take place next winter.

In committee materials released ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, officials wrote that “UNC has a long-held practice of exiting operations that are not core to the educational mission of the University.”

Wednesday’s item is informational only and will not consist of a formal vote to close the airport.

Related Stories
‹
Report Presents UNC With 6 Options for Future of Dean Smith Center
A recent report from a group of UNC leaders presents the university with six options for the future home of the men’s basketball program. The university’s Arena Committee has been working with multiple consultants for the past six months to evaluate options to either upgrade or entirely replace the program’s current home, the Dean Smith […]
Date Set for Horace Williams Airport to Close to Public
A date has been set for Horace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill to close to the public. The UNC Board of Trustees voted in November to move forward closing the airport. An email from university officials to the Town of Chapel Hill said the airport would be closing on May 15. The email said that […]
UNC Trustees Vote to Close Horace Williams Airport
The UNC Board of Trustees voted on Thursday to close Horace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill. There is no timeline for the closure, but Thursday’s vote gave university officials the authority to close the airport located north of the university campus. The board heard at its September meeting that more than $1 million in repairs […]
UNC Discussing Future of Horace Williams Airport
Horace Williams Airport’s days may be numbered. The airport, which is owned and operated by UNC, has been in the crosshairs of administrators for more than a decade. And the UNC Board of Trustees Finance, Infrastructure and Audit committee is set to discuss the future of the airport on Wednesday afternoon. UNC community relations director […]
›