Construction Continues on Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute Airport Hangar

The four-plane hangar being built at the Chehalis-Centralia Airport for Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute, headquartered in Chehalis, is on schedule to be finished and occupied by January, Airport Manager Allyn Roe said Monday. 

Roe said the steel structure is complete and crews are now working on the roof, placing in windows and installing insulation. 

Kugel Construction, out of Chehalis, is working with Kaufman Construction in Olympia to complete the project.

The hangar will be 15,600 square feet, 65 feet wide, 240 feet long and about 18 feet high.

Marlin Gimbel, director of professional relations at PCLI, told The Chronicle the institute is a regular user of the airport, flying out surgeons six to nine times a week.

The institute already owns two smaller hangars and leases another at the airport.

Gimbel said the new hangar will allow the institute to consolidate its three Cessna CJ3 planes under one roof.

Gimbel said once the four-plane hangar is built, the institute will decide whether to sell the other smaller hangars back to the airport or to a private owner.

PCLI, headquartered in Chehalis, has 17 centers in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.

The total cost of the new structure is $611,754, according to a city of Chehalis building permit.

A 1,500-square-foot parking lot will also be built by the hangar as a part of the project.

Roe said the parking lot will upgrade safety since cars can park and access the hangar without driving by the airport runways. 

The airport already holds 12 hangars.