A new aviation educational nonprofit is looking to set up shop at the Glendale Municipal Airport. Last week, the city’s Aviation Commission recommended City Council approve the group’s lease application.

Arizona Aviation Historical Group, founded by Tim Gagnon of Litchfield Park, was the only group to apply for a lease on 4,869-square-foot plot at the south end of the airport. City Council set a minimum rent of 30 cents per square foot per year. The group’s application is for a 20-year lease at that minimum rate, totaling $1,460.70 per year, with rent being adjusted every three years based on the Consumer Price Index.

Mr. Gagnon’s group, which formed in June, plans to build a 60-foot long, 20-foot wide, 12-foot tall hangar on the plot, which will include a library, conference area, computer workstations and a kitchenette.

The group will use the building for “education, preservation and restoration of aviation-related items,” according to Glendale Airport Manager Carl Newman. Mr. Newman said the group eventually wants to operated flights on the site and hold education outreach events at the facility several times a year.

The hangar will be shorter than most others at the airport because of a 15-foot-3 height limit for the plot in place to ensure personnel in the airport’s tower has a clear view of the south end of the runway. Mr. Newman said years ago a different group started to build a hangar on the site, but it was scrapped when it was realized a hangar of that height would obstruct the view from the tower. Aviation commissioners said this would be a good use of the plot for 20 years considering its ineligible for a typical hangar.

If the lease is not renewed at the end of the 20 years, Glendale can choose to take possession of the building on the site or require Arizona Aviation Historical Group to remove it.