[JYO] WashPost Article: Leesburg Airport May Charge Higher Rent

Leesburg Airport May Charge Higher Rent 
By Lila Arzua
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday,  February 12, 2004; Page LZ01  
< 
Tenants have complained about a possible rent increase for the new terminal  
scheduled to open at Leesburg Executive Airport in April, and some said the  
higher rate could drive business away. 
The Leesburg Airport Commission voted last month to raise the rent to $24.82  
per square foot a year, up from $17.48. The old rent included janitorial  
services and utilities, but the new rate would not, so for some tenants, rent  
would about double. The commission is scheduled to make a final decision  
Tuesday. 
"It's really going to push activities to other airports," such as Manassas  
and Winchester, Donald O. Robb, owner of AV-ED Flight School Inc., said at a  
Town Council work session Monday. 
"The rate has the potential of a building that sits empty at worst or  
partially filled at best," said Dan Moats, a former member of the airport  
commission. 
The new 18,339-foot Stanley F. Caulkins Terminal Building is expected to be  
ready for occupancy April 1. Named for the former Town Council member and  
airort commissioner who helped to found the airport in 1964, the complex  
includes 5,554 square feet of leasable space for flight schools, aircraft sales 
 
companies and fuel suppliers.  
Cindi Martin, the interim airport director, and members of the airport  
commission defended the higher rate. 
"These are not arbitrary numbers," said Martin, adding that the rate was  
calculated using a formula based on Federal Aviation Administration  
guidelines. 
Vice Chairman Sidney L. Lissner said the commission needed to recover  
construction costs, now estimated at $4.1 million, up from $3 million at  
groundbreaking in January 2003. 
"It's not a rosy picture," Lissner said. "The airport is in debt." 
Martin said the airport has more than $4.9 million in debts, plus  interest. 
The Leesburg airport houses 269 aircraft and has a 5,500-foot runway on which 
 there are 100,000 takeoffs and landings a year. It is a relief airport for  
Dulles International, meaning that planes can be directed to land there 
instead  of at Dlles.  
Supporters of the airport describe it as a crucial economic engine for  
Leesburg, providing more than 600 jobs and injecting $41 million a year into 
the  
local economy. Skeptics question whether employees and customers spend money in 
 town.  
"Is the airport building being treated like any other town building?" asked  
Town Council member Fernando J. "Marty" Martinez. "And do we want an airport  
that pays for itself, or do we want to subsidize it?"  
Airport commission Chairman Stephen Axeman said he was aware of only three  
tenants interested in space in the new building, the same three in the old  
one. 
"We can't let the full burden fall on just those three tenants," Axeman said. 
 He said the commission would also explore raising user fees to defray costs. 
Several airport customers also criticized the commission's decision not to  
equip the new terminal with a restaurant kitchen. Commission members said that  
the airport didn't have sufficient traffic to support a restaurant but that  
space wold be available if someone wanted to open a restaurant or coffee  shop.

Other related posts: