During its June 12 meeting, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved new lease terms with Ross Aviation for space the company currently occupies at Long Beach Airport (LGB), which will allow the company to develop new hangar space.
“We welcome Ross Aviation’s current and future operations at Long Beach Airport,” LGB Director Jess Romo told the Business Journal. “They consistently demonstrate strong operational fundamentals with excellent customer service, enhance the airport’s appeal to aeronautical users, and contribute to the airport’s role as an economic engine for the city and the region.”
On August 21, the City of Long Beach released a request for proposals (RFP) for the development of 31 acres on the west side of the airport. The RFP included five parcels located east of Cherry Avenue, adjacent to the 90-acre former Boeing C-17 Globemaster III manufacturing site: Parcel A, 11.18 acres that formerly served as parking for Boeing employees at the C-17 site; Parcel B, 2.86 acres; Parcel C, 3.17 acres; Parcel D, 6.83 acres; and Parcel E, 6.87 acres. Current LGB tenants Ross Aviation and Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. submitted proposals by the November 1 deadline.
Ross Aviation has an existing long-term lease for 12.16 acres adjacent to the area encompassed within the RFP. The company also has a month-to-month lease for Parcel C, which prohibits the company from developing the site. Under the new lease terms, both leases will be rolled into one 31-year lease for the combined 15.33 acres.
“The lease will require Ross [Aviation] to invest a minimum of $4 million for the development of Parcel C, which no developer would undertake with only a month-to-month agreement in place, where either party could terminate upon 30 days’ notice,” airport staff said in an e-mail to the Business Journal. “The lease will go into effect upon the mutual execution of the agreement by landlord and tenant.”
Ross Aviation did not respond to multiple requests for comment. During an August 2017 interview with the Business Journal, Ross Aviation General Manager Greg McQueary said the company plans to build hangar space large enough to accommodate two Gulfstream 650s, which he noted as a missing link for larger aircraft at LGB.
Gulfstream already has 22.55 acres under direct lease at the airport and negotiations are still underway for its proposal for Parcels A, B, a portion of D, and land between Parcels A and D. No details have been released regarding the terms of the lease or future development plans for the site.
“We are in preliminary conversations with the Long Beach Airport about our presence there and anticipate additional discussions with them over the next several months,” a Gulfstream representative told the Business Journal. “We remain committed to our presence in Long Beach.”