New Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Campus in Houston?

[Trae]

Houston is vying with a northern Illinois city for the home of the next aeronautical university campus, with its 60,000-square-foot academic center and a hangar.

Last month, the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University announced plans to build its third residential campus. The prestigious university that teaches aviation and aerospace is deciding between the Ellington Airport area and Rockford, Ill., which is nearly 90 miles northwest of Chicago. It had considered other cities, including Los Angeles, before shortening its list.

More: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7235342.html

This would be pretty good for the NASA/Clear Lake area, especially with the rumored cuts. It makes a lot of sense for them to locate their new campus in Houston. Let's hope it happens.

[lockmat]

Sorry, don't have time to read the article right now but does it say when they plan on making a decision?

[LTAWACS]

I hope they bring it here instead of way up there.

[TheNiche]

The Sunbelt strikes me as the obvious location for a flight school.

Look at where the Air Force does its flight training (TX, CO, OK, AR, NM, MS, AL, FL, GA, NC). Look at where the Navy and the Marines do their flight training (FL, TX, OK, MS, CA, AR, GA). The Army is all about AL. Coast Guard is in AL and FL. Not a single flight training location in the entire armed services is located further north than Pueblo, Colorado...and that's an outlier.

Even this university has its two major existing facilities in FL and AZ, continuing with the pattern.

I can't help but wonder whether they've already made up their mind and are just wondering what kind of incentives they can get from the city, county, and/or state. That would explain why it's Texas versus Illinois and not Houston versus Dallas.

[editor]

The Sunbelt strikes me as the obvious location for a flight school.

Look at where the Air Force does its flight training (TX, CO, OK, AR, NM, MS, AL, FL, GA, NC). Look at where the Navy and the Marines do their flight training (FL, TX, OK, MS, CA, AR, GA). The Army is all about AL. Coast Guard is in AL and FL. Not a single flight training location in the entire armed services is located further north than Pueblo, Colorado...and that's an outlier.

Even this university has its two major existing facilities in FL and AZ, continuing with the pattern.

I can't help but wonder whether they've already made up their mind and are just wondering what kind of incentives they can get from the city, county, and/or state. That would explain why it's Texas versus Illinois and not Houston versus Dallas.

I wonder if flight schools act like other colleges and try to locate near the headquarters of large companies in their fields in order to give their graduates a boost in the job market.

I don't know anything about how pilots are hired, or if E-R teaches things other than piloting, but being near the headquarters of United (most of the execs are in the northwest suburbs of Chicago -- a stone's throw from Chicago-Rockford International Airport) might play a role in this.

[TheNiche]

I wonder if flight schools act like other colleges and try to locate near the headquarters of large companies in their fields in order to give their graduates a boost in the job market.

I don't know anything about how pilots are hired, or if E-R teaches things other than piloting, but being near the headquarters of United (most of the execs are in the northwest suburbs of Chicago -- a stone's throw from Chicago-Rockford International Airport) might play a role in this.

It's primarily known as a flight school and a tech school. (Incidentally, it's where the 9/11 hijackers learned how to fly a plane, albeit without the landing procedures.) There are business programs, but if they've been successful to date in Daytona Beach and Phoenix...I'm not sure that it really matters whether there's a corporate headquarters 90 miles to the southeast in downtown Chicago.

[SkyEye]

Student pilots and UAV's at Ellington. I'll bring the popcorn.

[LTAWACS]

I say again... Bring it here.

[editor]

It's primarily known as a flight school and a tech school. (Incidentally, it's where the 9/11 hijackers learned how to fly a plane, albeit without the landing procedures.) There are business programs, but if they've been successful to date in Daytona Beach and Phoenix...I'm not sure that it really matters whether there's a corporate headquarters 90 miles to the southeast in downtown Chicago.

I know you think you're bolstering your position by repeating the "90 miles" line from the Chronicle, but you aren't. The 90-mile figure is a silly one. The reality is that it's 56 miles from the Chicago Rockford airport to Chicago O'Hare airport, where United has its hands-on, non-paper-pushing, operations. 75 to the United Airlines Building.

I think that it's a no brainer that ER should pick Houston, simply for the weather. But then, I thought Boeing would certainly pick Texas over Chicago, too, and I was wrong about that.

I'm also surprised to learn that Rockford already has 6,000 aerospace workers. I never would have thought that, especially the way people in Chicago talk about Rockford as a hick town (even though it has 340,000 people in the metro).

I think the big thing that RFD has in its favor is the fact that Embry-Riddle already has a campus there. Adding to a facility is usually cheaper than starting a new one.

I wonder if an earlier poster was correct, and E-R is only dangling Houston to get concessions out of Illinois.

[Trae]

Boeing picked Chicago because the Dallas area had all of the suburban cities fighting over who would get the HQ. The Chicago area came together and said they didn't care where they went, as long as they came to Illinois. It was in an article last year on why Boeing moved.

[TheNiche]

I know you think you're bolstering your position by repeating the "90 miles" line from the Chronicle, but you aren't. The 90-mile figure is a silly one. The reality is that it's 56 miles from the Chicago Rockford airport to Chicago O'Hare airport, where United has its hands-on, non-paper-pushing, operations. 75 to the United Airlines Building.

Whatever distances we're going by, that's still a pretty significant commute for someone already working with United. I wouldn't think that this would be an especially compelling reason to locate in Rockford.

I'm also surprised to learn that Rockford already has 6,000 aerospace workers. I never would have thought that, especially the way people in Chicago talk about Rockford as a hick town (even though it has 340,000 people in the metro).

Between HOU, EFD, and NASA and NASA contractors (even in the midst of downsizing), Rockford looks puny. Also...I'm not out-and-out saying that there aren't 6,000 aerospace workers in Rockford, but you've got to be really cautious about numbers like that. Economic impact studies are really squirrely, and most journalists don't really know what they're looking at (if they bothered to read past the executive summary) (if they weren't just copying something out of a press release in the first place).

I think the big thing that RFD has in its favor is the fact that Embry-Riddle already has a campus there. Adding to a facility is usually cheaper than starting a new one.

Embry-Riddle already has a campus at Ellington Field.

I wonder if an earlier poster was correct, and E-R is only dangling Houston to get concessions out of Illinois.

I was that earlier poster.

[Houston19514]

I know you think you're bolstering your position by repeating the "90 miles" line from the Chronicle, but you aren't. The 90-mile figure is a silly one. The reality is that it's 56 miles from the Chicago Rockford airport to Chicago O'Hare airport, where United has its hands-on, non-paper-pushing, operations. 75 to the United Airlines Building.

I think that it's a no brainer that ER should pick Houston, simply for the weather. But then, I thought Boeing would certainly pick Texas over Chicago, too, and I was wrong about that.

I'm also surprised to learn that Rockford already has 6,000 aerospace workers. I never would have thought that, especially the way people in Chicago talk about Rockford as a hick town (even though it has 340,000 people in the metro).

I think the big thing that RFD has in its favor is the fact that Embry-Riddle already has a campus there. Adding to a facility is usually cheaper than starting a new one.

I wonder if an earlier poster was correct, and E-R is only dangling Houston to get concessions out of Illinois.

Where are you coming up with your measurements, which at least equal the Chronicle's 90 mile measure for silliness? By what route does one get from RFD to ORD in only 56 miles? [Edit: I see where you got your 56 miles. 2 problems with your number 1) commuters, not being crows, tend not to commute "as the crow flies". 2) Your measurement was from New Milford, Il to Elk Grove Village, Chicago, not Rockford Airport to O'Hare Airport, which is what was being discussed and what you represented your measurement to be. If one maps the RFD to ORD route, one consistently comes up with a distance of about 73 miles. Likewise your 75 mile route to UAL's headquarters, which consistently maps at 86 miles.

And fwiw, I don't know that it especially relevant vis a vis Embry Riddle, but United is in the process of moving a lot of hands-on, non-paper-pushing operations (in fact, it's called the operations center) from Elk Grove Village to downtown Chicago (Willis Tower, 86 miles from Rockford airport).

[Houston19514]

Boeing picked Chicago because the Dallas area had all of the suburban cities fighting over who would get the HQ. The Chicago area came together and said they didn't care where they went, as long as they came to Illinois. It was in an article last year on why Boeing moved.

Not buying that one. Let me guess, that article was in the Dallas Morning News.

[lockmat]

In an effort to draw E-R to their city, there is a drive to raise $1 million dollars for scholarships:

The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois has received more than $450,000 in verbal commitments or pledges for a $1 million fund that will provide scholarships for students attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University if the school builds a residential campus in Rockford.

http://www.rrstar.com/carousel/x934183160/Our-View-Keep-momentum-going-make-Embry-Riddle-pledge

[lockmat]

NPR has an update:

“We’ve got a lot of people interested in making Ellington a crown jewel.”

If Embry-Riddle joins that list, the new campus could open as early as this fall.

http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1301347745

Could they make a campus that fast? 90,000 sqf is not that huge, but it's not that small, either.

And from Rockford Register Star:

Embry-Riddle may choose between the two cities at a June board of trustees meeting.

http://blogs.e-rockford.com/brianleaf/2011/05/06/embry-riddles-impact-houston-says-100-million/

[samagon]

Hope this happens for Houston, I work pretty close to Ellington field, and desire more options for food. Then again, if more lunch options come in they will probably be fast food.

[LTAWACS]

Good news... about time.

[asubrt]

We got it!

http://www.fly2houston.com/0/3918858/0/83280D83283/

[Simbha]

This is good news, but I'm confused about what this means.

The article linked by asubrt above indicates this will be an Embry-Riddle Worldwide campus. From what I can tell, this means it will be one of 150 locations for their on-line learning. However, I was under the impression that this was a rare type of facility - perhaps something akin to their Daytona Beach and Prescott, AZ residential campuses.

Which is it?

[asubrt]

Damn, looks like I jumped the gun... they decided not to build the full facility we were hoping for.

http://www.chron.com/business/article/Aviation-school-decides-against-full-Houston-2238085.php