by David Chapman
Staff Writer
In its final meeting of 2010, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority board of directors approved an amendment to the lease option agreement with Embraer Aircraft Holding Inc., one of the authority’s key deals of the year.
A deal was reached in August for the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer to hold the lease option on the 40,000-square-foot S-11 hangar at Jacksonville International Airport.
Completion of the deal was contingent on Embraer securing a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Under the amended lease agreement approved Tuesday, Embraer will have the option to make an initial payment of $50,000 by Friday and a second $50,000 payment by June 30 to secure the location.
The option deal is to secure the hangar for Embraer should the Defense Department contract with the company to assemble the Super Tucano light attack aircraft, a two-seat turboprop plane that’s currently used by five air forces, including those in Brazil and Colombia.
Steve Grossman, JAA executive director, said he expected the federal government to make a decision by June.
If the Defense Department does not contract with Embraer by June 30, the company will not have to make the payment by that deadline and the space would become available for rent.
If the department does contract with Embraer, the $50,000 payment due June 30 would go toward Embraer’s rent.
Then, Embraer would enter a 10-year deal with the aviation authority, with two consecutive five-year options at the company’s discretion. Rent would be $7 a square foot for a total annual rent of more than $278,000.
Embraer, founded in 1969, is based in Brazil with U.S. headquarters in Fort Lauderdale.
As the Daily Record reported earlier this month, Embraer officials applied for a Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission approved it.
With the hangar assembly plant, Embraer would create 50 jobs at an average salary of $49,500, plus benefits, and qualify for a tax refund of up to $150,000, with the state’s share totaling $120,000 and City share totaling $30,000.
In other business on Tuesday, the board approved an agreement between the aviation authority and Florida State College at Jacksonville for the college to lease and maintain a long-established firing range.
The 35-year-old range, at the northeast corner of Cecil Airport, was constructed by the Navy while Cecil was operated as a Naval Air Station and has since been used by the aviation authority’s police department and other governmental agencies.
The authority’s police department now uses the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office firing range and no longer has a need for the facility, said Grossman.
Under the agreement, the Florida State College at Jacksonville Military, Public Safety and Security Division will use the range for small arms training for different agencies and include it in its educational programming.
Under the lease terms, the college will be responsible for all maintenance, utilities and improvements for a five-year period. The lease can be renewed for successive five-year periods if agreed upon by both parties.
The initial five-year lease calls for the college to pay JAA $3,000 the first year, $5,000 for the second, third and fourth years and $7,000 for the fifth year.
356-2466