Van Nuys Airport Secures Major Tenant

The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners on Thursday approved granting a lease to an East Coast aviation company for a fixed-base operation at Van Nuys Airport. Jet Aviation of America Inc. is required to invest a minimum of $40 million on the 17-acre site at 16644 Roscoe Blvd. that would include a maintenance and repair facility operated by private aircraft manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. Both Jet Aviation, based at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, and Gulfstream are subsidiaries of aerospace and defense firm General Dynamics Corp., in West Falls Church, Va. “Today’s action by the airport commissioners reaffirms our commitment to develop Van Nuys in a way that provides assured economic benefits for the airport, Van Nuys and the San Fernando Valley,” Sean Burton, president of the board, said in a prepared statement. The Roscoe property has been vacant after former tenant Pentastar Aviation left in 2012 and second tenant Basenet went out of business after filing bankruptcy in 2014. Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that governs Van Nuys, requested proposals in 2014 to return a fixed-base operation to the property. A fixed-based operation sells fuel, provides hangar space and maintains and manages aircraft. According to the airport staff report on the lease, Jet Aviation and Gulfstream would provide more than 200 new jobs over the 30-year lease period. Both companies will work with local schools to set up apprentice programs. “Once operational, the (fixed-base operation) and (maintenance facility) will have an estimated $89 million impact over the term of the lease to the local economy,” the staff report said. Jet Aviation was one of two companies submitting a proposal. The other bidder was FBO Investments VNY founded by two career military officers who proposed a $77 million project consisting of hangars, offices, a flight training school and a maintenance facility in six buildings.