TEMPE — US Airways says it's planning to move forward with long-standing plans to expand its presence in downtown Tempe, and it has recently developed drawings for a multi- story building on one of the city's main streets.
Taxpayers have been giving incentives to the hometown airline since 1998 to construct the building. Although the airline has missed two deadlines for the expansion, the city has been lenient, granting extensions.
"They're right on the cusp of getting something done," Vice Mayor Hut Hutson said.
US Airways approached Tempe with preliminary plans for a new building shortly before making a hostile takeover bid for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, an $8.6 billion deal that could be a defining moment for the company.
US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant said the company doesn't expect efforts on the new building on Tempe's Mill Avenue to slow despite the potential deal.
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Durrant said the merger has not stalled the project. But the airline isn't ready to divulge any details or give a timeline.
City leaders wanted to keep the Tempe-based airline in town so much that they've pledged to pay about $15 million over 20 years as an incentive for it to stay and expand.
The city gives US Airways $812,000 a year, but Tempe can cut that by $175,000 if the building isn't done in February, an impossible deadline since the airline hasn't even submitted blueprints.
The City Council refused to penalize the airline for missing other deadlines in 2004 and 2005, including one to finish the building by July 2005. Instead, Tempe gave the company more time.
Councilman Ben Arredondo approved the extensions before but said he won't do that again.
"I expect them to show for something, because I think they know the council is anxious to have something built on Mill Avenue," Arredondo said. "And I would not anticipate this merger, if it goes through, to change anything."
Arredondo added that he's found the airline's efforts to be sincere.
The land targeted for the building is among the downtown area's most valuable properties. It sits across from the historic Hayden Flour Mill and next to a light-rail station that's set to open in December 2008.