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AAR Aircraft Services is to pay Miami-Dade County at least $173 million over 22 years, create 200 temporary construction jobs and add 250 permanent jobs averaging $65,000 a year in building a maintenance hangar at Miami International Airport in a lease the county approved last week.
Illinois-based AAR, which operates in more than 20 nations and has been leasing maintenance sites at the airport since 1998, won the OK last week to build a new 114,000-square-foot hangar on the airport’s north side with three service bays to handle narrowbody planes. The hangar will become county property, but the county over time will pay AAR $50 million for the building.
County commissioners approved the lease unanimously last week with no discussion. Commissioner Eileen Higgins made the motion for approval.
AAR plans to break ground on the new facility early next year and complete construction within 24 months, an airport statement said.
The building will let AAR handle an increased demand for aircraft maintenance at the airport, the largest economic engine in the county. The county said the expansion will allow AAR to increase its maintenance, repair and overhaul capacity at the airport by a third. AAR earlier announced extension and expansion of its maintenance agreement with United Airlines at its Miami International Airport and Rockford, IL, locations.
“The Beacon Council [the county’s economic development organization] is working closely with AAR not only to continue to expand their footprint successfully in Miami-Dade, but to develop our local aviation mechanic workforce,” said Rodrick Miller, the Beacon Council’s president and CEO. “We enthusiastically welcome the hundreds of local jobs and investment they are bringing to our community.”
To pay AAR for the hangar, the county will use $18 million that it has set aside to fund airport capital projects and $32 million in borrowing by bonds.
Airport expenses, including repayment of borrowing, do not come from tax funds.
On the other hand, AAR is to pay the county $40.5 million in land rent over the term of the lease plus buildings rent. AAR is required to pay for maintenance of its facilities as well.
AAR already leases two buildings at the site, a 200,000-square-foot hangar and a smaller building where it washes planes. It is to demolish the smaller building and move the washing to other airport land that it leases under the new lease for all of its locations.
A memo to commissioners from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava before the vote noted that while land and building rent is estimated at $173 million over the 22 years, “the total minimum received will be increased over the lifetime of the restated lease due to various increases in appraised values of the land and the buildings causing an increase over today’s stated rent.” Those increases are to be established by an independent appraiser.
The new lease also requires AAR to contribute $10,000 a year to a Florida Memorial University scholarship fund to support students in its aviation programs.
https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2023/07/25/aar-hangar-lease-to-add-250-airport-maintenance-jobs/
