AUBURN – Plans for a new $2 million hangar that will be twice the size of any existing hangar at Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport will come before the Planning Board on July 8.

The hangar is intended to be the home of a historic 1950s-era German aircraft initially, then available for other commercial operations once the restoration of the Super Constellation Starliner is finished.

“We hope to attract new tenants, perhaps connected to passenger service,” said Rick Cloutier, airport manager.

The pad is poured and developer George Schott is just waiting for Planning Board site plan approval before he can begin building the 27,000-square-foot hangar for the Starliner aircraft – Germany’s equivalent of Air Force One. Only 44 of the aircraft were ever made. Two of them belonged to an Auburn resident who lived next to the airport and sold them to Lufsthansa airline in December.

Lufsthansa said it intends to restore one and use the other for parts. Engineers and mechanics from Germany have been at the airport for the past few weeks taking x-rays, scanning and conducting other research before they can actually begin the restoration work, Cloutier said. The project is expected to take three to five years.

Schott is building the 180- by 150-foot hangar and leasing the land underneath it for 20 years, according to the application. The airport has an option to buy it, he said.

“We hope it will be finished by Sept. 30,” Schott said.

Cloutier said it’s an exciting time for the airport. Its new taxiway should be completed next week, and it has begun a series of public meetings to gauge interest in expanded passenger service at Maine’s third busiest airport.

“We need community support,” he said, encouraging people to attend the meetings. “We’re ready to grow.”