TRUCKEE, Calif. – The Truckee Tahoe Airport District is accepting land leasing proposals for both public and private development, following an inquiry by one of the area’s largest employers.
Truckee-based Clear Capital, a national provider of real estate analytics and valuations, has approached the airport district with the idea of leasing property since it is looking for a long-term facility, preferably in Truckee, to house its headquarters, said Kevin Marshall, co-founder and president of the company.
“A facility for us – we’re larger than the average Truckee company (with 350 employees nationwide, 300 of whom are in Truckee) – there’s not as many options,” he said, adding that several other regional parcels are being looked at by the company, the headquarters of which are currently located on Pioneer Trail in Truckee.
According to the Truckee Tahoe Airport District’s June 28 meeting minutes – which was when the land leasing topic was brought to the board’s attention – Clear Capital would like to have a facility that could handle about 400 to 500 employees.
“The new facility would need to be in excess of five to six acres with a parking facility to accommodate 400-plus cars with approximately 50,000 to 60,000 square feet of working space,” the minutes stated.
“(We’re) very early in talks (with the airport district),” Marshall said this week.
Over the last six weeks, the airport district has received two other inquires from private entities about leasing airport land, but no formal proposals have been received, said Kevin Bumen, director of aviation and business services for Truckee Tahoe Airport District.
“The airport hasn’t leased property in its history, so this is unprecedented,” he said, adding that the only exception is Fire Station 96 on Truckee Airport Road, a site shared among the airport district, Truckee Fire Protection District and Calfire.
Land the airport is considering for potential leasing is “close to the airport” and will not include properties the district has purchased to protect open space, such as Waddle Ranch, Bumen said.
Information on the number, size and market value price of the parcels currently is unknown, he said.
Potential benefits to the airport district regarding the endeavor, Bumen said, include further utilization of its approximately 3,000 acres of property while adding to and diversifying its revenue stream. As for community benefits, it would provide flat areas for development that are well connected to infrastructure.
It also aligns with the district’s mission of “enchanting the benefits to the community-at-large,” Bumen said.
It is “very common” for publicly owned airports to lease property for aeronautical and non-aeronautical uses, said Bumen, according to the district’s June 28 meeting minutes.
Site leases to prospective tenants would be developed under the general guidelines of the district, town of Truckee and/or Nevada County, based on property location, according to an Oct. 5 airport press release, and lease terms are subject to airport district policy, state law and Federal Aviation Administration mandates.
Further discussion regarding land leasing will likely be discussed at Truckee Tahoe Airport District’s January meeting, Bumen said.
