WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Every day, planes fly in and out of Jabara airport in Northeast Wichita. While many there are often looking up at the sky, the Wichita Airport Authority is looking out at the land around the airport. 

“We get requests for potential development opportunities, whether it's aeronautical or non-aeronautical. And so we try to evaluate what those requests are with the properties that we have available," says Jesse Romo, the Director of airports for the WAA.

The WAA is hoping to commission a study to evaluate all the land it owns around Jabara airport and see what sort of improvements need to be made to attract business to the area. Romo says “this study is going to help us evaluate access issues, environmental concerns, and kind of set the stage for us to be in a better position to move quickly when we have a potential development.”

He adds that some of the land needs to stay undeveloped in order to not disrupt the flights at the airport, so this study will tell them what spots could be ready for businesses to look at. “We can identify the things that we need to do to get the properties ready for development. It puts us at a really good competitive advantage to get new businesses and get more growth out here."

The contract for the study is on the Wichita City Council agenda for tomorrow. Romo says if its approved, the WAA could have the results back by late summer or early fall.