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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Castle & Cooke in Talks for Lease Of Jet Center Property in Van Nuys

Negotiations began this month between Los Angeles World Airports and Castle & Cooke Aviation Services on a lease for the former Jet Center property at Van Nuys Airport. The talks started the week of July 7 after Elite Aviation withdrew its proposal for a new, modern fixed-base operation on the 7-acre parcel at 16200 Daily Drive in the northeast corner of the airport. Castle & Cooke intends to build an FBO on the site. Castle & Cooke Aviation is owned by David Murdock, the chairman and CEO of Dole Food Co., and operates a small but growing network of FBOs in Van Nuys, Hawaii, and Washington State. The company hopes to wrap up negotiations with the airport agency in the next couple of months, said Steve Friedmann, executive vice president of Castle & Cooke Aviation. The LAWA board chose Elite earlier this year as the developer for the Jet Center property three hangars and two small office areas that has mostly sat vacant for about four years. Jet Center had been owned by General Electric and had primarily done refurbishments and airport maintenance. Elite, a charter and aircraft management firm, proposed to build a $30-million-facility that was going to be the first new FBO at Van Nuys in about 20 years. Since submitting its plans two years ago, the company’s vision got “tempered and changed,” said Neil Shaw, executive vice president of Elite. Without giving much detail, Shaw explained that as the lease negotiation process moved forward and the company looked closer at what it wanted to do and what LAWA wanted done it was decided that Elite would give up its right to develop the land. “It is not a big Machiavellian sort of a thing,” Shaw said. With Elite removing itself from the process, Castle & Cooke Aviation, the second choice among the multiple proposals for the land, slid into first, said Selena Birk, the manager of Van Nuys Airport. The aviation firm has been at Van Nuys Airport since 1981 and provides fuel, hangar space, office and shop space to corporate flight departments and private aircraft owners. Its current facility was built in 1997, and a second hangar and office space was built in 2004 and is leased to Elite. Castle & Cooke Aviation was among eight companies submitting proposals in 2003 for the Jet Center property and was later chosen to negotiate with LAWA for a redevelopment project. The company came under scrutiny over donations by Murdock to then-Mayor James Hahn. The airport agency rejected the eight bids in early 2006 and sought new ones that were a better fit with the airport’s master plan and strategic business plan. LAWA set a minimum rent of $34,000 per acre per year, with investment ranging between $745,000 and $8.7 million. Castle & Cooke Aviation intends to work closely with airport staff and LAWA commissioners to ensure a successful development, Friedmann said. “Our hope is to try to attract flight departments and charter operators to the FBO,” Friedmann said. “If we are successful in that it is helpful to the aviation community and also would give Los Angeles a first-class development.” As for Elite, the firm will continue to build its brand and culture, Shaw said. Elite recently added two new aircraft to its fleet, which is based in Delaware, Colorado, Texas as well as Van Nuys.

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