River Cities Business Journal: Construction

River Cities Business Journal

LAKE HAVASU CITY - It doesn‘t look like much yet, just some concrete and heavy machinery at the Havasu Airport, but the Havasu Air Center is an $8 million project that is being built with an eye to the future.

The eight-acre center will feature 10 hangars and a host of amenities for pilots and passengers arriving and departing from Lake Havasu City Municipal Airport.

“We'll be able to accommodate everything from a Cessna to a Gulf Stream jet,” Air Center President Dante Marinelli said. “We're really looking to change the landscape of the airport. We'll have 105,000 square feet of hangar space, a wash area and a helicopter pad.

“Not all of what we're doing right now is meant to meet current needs. We've looked at the future as well.”

And in the not too distant future pilots and passengers who utilize the Air Center will get first class treatment that starts the moment they get off the plane under the shade canopy that will keep them from standing under the hot desert sun.

“It's a full-service facility. For customers who fly in we have a full lounge and a pilot's lounge. There will be a movie theater and a conference center,” Marinelli said. “We offer valet service. We'll pull out your airplane and put it away.

“We'll have a concierge service to arrange for motels and restaurants.

“It's a very turnkey solution for an airplane owner.”

Plans call for a total of 10 hangars.

“The first ones sold in the first five months before we even started building,” Marinelli said. “We only have two left.

“Some of the larger hangars that are more money are for corporations, but we have private guys who share a hangar. It's a long-term lease - 40 years.”

Marinelli isn't worried about there being enough demand for the facility.

“A few years ago it was very uncommon to see a jet come into Havasu. Now you see two or three a day,” Marinelli said.

The facility will also offer aircraft rentals, a flight school and an aircraft brokerage.

For more information about the Air Center visit their Web site at: www.havasuaircenter.com