SAN FRANCISCO— In an effort to reduce costs and shed surplus property, NASA just recently signed a lease with Planetary Ventures LLC to manage Moffett Federal Airfield, an agency facility located in Moffett Field, CA, and rehabilitate its historic Hangar One. NASA estimates the lease will save the agency approximately $6.3 million annually in maintenance and operation costs and provide $1.16 billion in rent over the initial 60-year lease term.
MFA, currently maintained by NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA, includes approximately 1,000 acres of land located on South San Francisco Bay. The land includes Hangars One, Two and Three, an airfield flight operations building, two runways and a private golf course.
"As NASA expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth,” says NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “We want to invest taxpayer resources in scientific discovery, technology development and space exploration—not in maintaining infrastructure we no longer need. Moffett Field plays an important role in the Bay Area and is poised to continue to do so through this lease arrangement.”
After a fair and open competition, the US General Services Administration and NASA selected Planetary Ventures LLC as the preferred lessee in February 2014 and began lease negotiations. The negotiated lease, which is neither a procurement action nor a government contract, will put Hangar One to new use and eliminate NASA's management costs of the airfield, with the federal government retaining title to the property.
“Hangar One is an important landmark in Silicon Valley,” says GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini. “GSA was proud to support NASA in delivering the best value to taxpayers while restoring this historic facility and enhancing the surrounding community.”
Planetary Ventures, a Google subsidiary, currently plans to invest more than $200 million in capital improvements to the property and commits, in this lease, to several undertakings that will benefit the public upon completion, including:
-- Refurbishing and protecting historic Hangar One in accordance with standards established for historic properties by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior;
-- Rehabilitating historic Hangars Two and Three;
-- Operating MFA in accordance with the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for public and private use; and,
-- Creating an educational facility where the public can explore the site's legacy and the role of technology in the history of Silicon Valley.
A spokesperson for Google tells GlobeSt.com that the “immediate priority is the revitalization of the hangars,” and David Radcliffe, VP of Real Estate and Workplace Services, tells GlobeSt.com that “We look forward to rolling up our sleeves to restore the remarkable landmark Hangar One, which for years has been considered one of the most endangered historic sites in the US.” Google could not provide further information at this time but we will update as we learn more.
According to Ames director S. Pete Worden, “We are fortunate to have had significant input from surrounding communities on setting a future path for Moffett Field. With the involvement of the citizens of Mountain View and Sunnyvale, we are confident the results will benefit all parties.”
Planetary Ventures will assume operation of the site following the finalization of a joint plan with NASA, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and California Regional Water Quality Control Board to ensure continued environmental stewardship and protection of the existing remedies of the site.
As a tenant to NASA, Planetary Ventures will be required to comply with all applicable laws, regulations and policies, including those on topics of historic preservation, environmental compliance, security, health and safety, and airfield operations to support ongoing missions and other government objectives.
Once renovations are complete, Hangar One will again be home to high-tech innovation as Planetary Ventures begins using the historic facility for research, development, assembly and testing in the areas of space exploration, aviation, rover/robotics and other emerging technologies. Hangars Two and Three will be used for similar purposes.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
