McClellan Business Park acquires former base airfield

McClellan Business Park has acquired the airfield portion of the former McClellan Air Force Base, adding more than 1,100 acres of potential business development sites.

Park representatives announced the acquisition Tuesday, though Sacramento County supervisors approved the transfer in September. The transfer was enacted as part of an amendment to the original 2002 development agreement between the county and park operator McClellan Park LLC that gave the latter direct management and ownership of McClellan.

As part of the transfer, the former McClellan Airfield was renamed Sacramento McClellan Airport, and will operate as a privately owned airport available for public use.

“One major difference between municipal and private airport ownerships is flexibility to make changes and to do that with much greater ease,” said Scott Owens, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Sacramento McClellan Airport, in an email statement.

“This change allows us greater flexibility to make the changes needed airport-wide and, frankly, is another milestone in the evolution of McClellan Park’s continued innovation and revitalization of its tremendous infrastructure,” he said.

Under the new ownership and management, the airport will offer hangars of various sizes for lease, opportunities for build-to-suit hangars with long-term leases, and the possibility of property sales with ground improvements, according to McClellan.

The on-site fixed-base operator and park-affiliated firm, McClellan Jet Services, will continue to provide jet fueling, ground services, a crew lounge and other amenities.

Sacramento McClellan Airport is more than 1,100 acres, or more than a third of the 2,856-acre McClellan Park property. The original development agreement gave park operator Larry Kelley and his associates vested development rights for the former air base in exchange for making infrastructure improvements on site.

In approving the airfield transfer, county supervisors also extended the length of the development agreement by 10 years, to 2032.

By Ben van der Meer  –  Staff Writer, Sacramento Business Journal