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If you've been tuning into the business aviation press for the past year, you couldn't miss the reports that OEM production can't keep up with demand and that the used market for late-model jets keeps tightening. The knock-on effect of more tails is a need for more places to park, and that acute issue is facing airports across the country. Hangar capacity has become a growing priority for airports seeking to accommodate based aircraft and aviation-business growth, so more U.S. cities have been investing in new hangars for all aircraft types. Chandler Municipal Airport (CHD) is among them: on Aug. 12 its city council approved a ground lease with Vesper Aviation to build 29 new executive hangars.A hangar shortage decades in the makingThe ground lease is with CHD Curtis East LLC, a subsidiary of Vesper Aviation, and will span 113,000 sq. ft. on approximately 4.8 acres located along the airport's northern boundary. The 30-year ground lease requires the company to build at least 10 standard, 4 large and 2 extra-large executive hangars within 24 months of lease execution. No measurements were given of the different hangars, but they will be available for sale or lease.According to Airport Manager Ryan Reeves, demand for aircraft storage in the East Valley region has exceeded available supply for decades. Access to hangar space can influence where pilots decide to base their aircraft, where businesses choose to operate and which airports attract aviation activity.Why hangars, not runways, cap airport growthAn airport can only support long-term based aircraft expansion if owners have enough storage and support facilities. Without hangar development, capacity becomes restricted even when plenty of runway and airspace capacity still exists.Projects like CHD's show that airports are working to address this growing strategic issue. While aircraft demand and aviation activity can grow relatively quickly, hangar construction moves more slowly because it requires land, capital, permitting and long-term planning. The speed of future hangar development projects may be the bottleneck for business aviation growth that no one is paying attention to.