Airport signs lease with new North State Aviation
The Forsyth County Airport Commission has signed a five-year lease with North State Aviation Holdings LLC.
The lease is for 4001 North Liberty St. at Smith Reynolds Airport, which had been the home of North State Aviation LLC, from when it opened in 2011 to when it abruptly went out of business on March 23, eliminating 345 jobs. North State was the airport’s largest tenant and boasted clients like United Airlines. A group of North State managers formed North State Aviation Holdings LLC and purchased assets of the defunct company in June. They reopened the location and are continuing North State’s business of doing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of large transport aircraft.
The company’s old lease expired Dec. 31, with a one-month extension as airport staff negotiated a new agreement. The lease is for a 322,280-square-foot, four-story building on approximately 28 acres. It has six hangar bays totaling 100,800 square feet, each capable of housing a Boeing 737, with a door height of 45 feet and an open span of 320 feet.
The new five-year lease includes an $80,000 security deposit and rent payments totaling $792,513 in the first 12 months. The annual rent will rise to $1,001,114 in the second year. There is an option for a four-year extension in which the rent would increase by 8 percent. The agreement also includes the forgiveness of previous rent that was due and reimbursing the airport commission for utility expenses.
“We’re excited about it,” said Airport Commission Chairman Scott Piper. “We’re ecstatic. It’s very promising. We’re pleased for them and it’s good for us.”
Smith Reynolds Airport also serves corporate and recreational air travel. Its other tenants include Piedmont Flight Training School, Piedmont Aircraft Sales, Piedmont Aviation Components and Piedmont Propulsion Systems LLC. Among the Forsyth Tech bond projects is the construction of a new facility at the airport for MRO training.
