SR Aviation Infrastructure, a New York and Nashville-based real estate investment and development firm, announced in February that it was acquiring Republic Jet Center and Stratosphere Development at Farmingdale Republic Airport, encompassing 50 acres of developable land, with the plan to build a new private jet hangar.
The multi-phase development is set to deliver a best-in-class hangar facility with modern amenities and 28-foot hangar door heights, designed to accommodate state-of-the-art private jets, SRAI said.
The hangar will also improve operational efficiency and raise the standard for private aviation infrastructure at the airport, the developers said.
But the plan has received criticism from the community.
Nancy Cypser, the president of the Woodland Civic Association and the Long Island Civic Alliance, a coalition of nine local civic associations, said she is worried about the lack of experience SRAI and its parent company have.
“We’re a little bit concerned about their lack of experience in the industry,” she said.
SomeraRoad is just 10 years old, and its subsidiary, SRAI, was created in 2024.
Cypser said she was reassured that SRAI had the capabilities to complete the contract, but noted Stratosphere Development’s struggles in building a hangar at the airport previously.
The state approved Stratosphere Development’s original contract at Republic Airport, which took effect in 2018, but the project stalled, and SRAI acquired it along with the property in its February agreement.
Cypser said people in the community would like to see more transparency from the state when awarding contracts.
“Our attitude is maybe it should have been put back out to bid. Maybe this shouldn’t just keep changing hands because it was initially granted a contract and then changed and then changed again,” she said.
Jonathon Reeser, the president of SRAI, previously said the Farmingdale expansion represents a significant growth milestone for SRAI, which includes hangar complexes at San Antonio International Airport in Texas and Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Montana, as well as holdings in Las Vegas.
Republic Airport is the third-busiest airport in the state, behind John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. According to ATADS, Republic Airport had 15,203 total operations in January.
Cypser said the proposed hangar will add more jets to the airport, increasing air traffic in the area and the noise associated with the airport, which is not a new battle for Long Islanders.
“It’s quite difficult sometimes to sit in your backyard,” the East Farmingdale resident said.
The Towns of North Hempstead and Hempstead sued the FAA in 2025 due to nearby airport noise, and Hempstead filed another suit later in the year against the Port Authority for similar reasons.
Monte Koch, a senior advisor to SRAI, previously said that hangar space in the region has become scarce as demand from private and business aviation increases.
“By delivering purpose-built, modern hangars at Farmingdale, SRAI is not only addressing a critical infrastructure gap but will also set a new benchmark for quality and operational sophistication in one of the nation’s busiest aviation corridors,” he said.
“Regardless of who performs this work, we don’t feel that this is the right spot for it,” Cypser said, relating to the concerns of the community.
