Former Air Base Plans to Land Cargo Operations

Jul. 25–San Bernardino International Airport is ready to take off.

A $31 million runway expansion will help attract tenants to the former Norton Air Base, Airport Operations Manager Eric Ray said.

The expanded and improved 10,000-foot-long, 200-foot-wide runway is slated for completion Oct. 1.

The expanded runway will accommodate A380 jumbo cargo jets. New lights and water systems were installed and dowels were installed to keep the runway smooth and so it could handle heavier planes.

The runway and a terminal will be ready for use by Oct. 1. Those two elements are expected to attract tenants to the airport.

Before these improvements were made, the airport did not have a solid product to offer, Interim Executive Director Don Rogers said.

The airport is operated by the San Bernardino International Airport Authority and the Inland Valley Development Agency. The airport occupies 1,329 acres.

Developer Hillwood, a Perot Co., was designated master developer of more than 400 acres in November 2002.

Dallas-based Hillwood has completed deals including a 1.2-million-square-foot distribution center for toymaker Mattel in April 2004. Auto parts retailer Pep Boys opened a 600,240-square-foot distribution center at in May.

Colton-based Stater Bros. Markets will open a 1.8 million-square-foot distribution center with corporate offices next year. Stater Bros. will consolidate about 2,000 workers from other locations and move its headquarters to the new site.

Meanwhile, the County of San Bernardino and Fire Consolidated District renewed its lease with the airport for three more years July 13. The district repairs and maintains fire equipment and vehicles at the facility.

The district pays the airport $83,000 a year in rent to use 1.75 acres of land and a 30,000-square-foot building.

Rebuilding

When the air base closed in April 1994, 10,000 civilian and military workers lost their jobs.

But the land was earmarked for development and transferred to the airport authority. Improvements made to the airport included the installation of sprinklers and the removal of asbestos and lead-based paint.

The airport authority has three goals: to change the landscape of the airport, replace jobs and increase the tax base.

“So far I think we’ve done all of that,” Airport Marketing Director Penny Chua said.

Many of the old warehouses left by the Air Force have been knocked down and replaced with distribution centers such as Kohl’s, Mattel and Pep Boys.

Since the closure of the base, the airport authority has generated 4,000 jobs and expects that number to increase to 6,000 by 2020, Ray said. Those jobs will include general laborers and high paying distribution management jobs.

The airport has a 30,000 square-foot building with more than 20 business suites of 500 to 2,000 square feet. The building has 12 tenants, including Ortiz Asphalt.

“The airport is a great place. It’s a good location and the rates are decent,” said Bruce Ortiz , owner of Ortiz Asphalt.

Ortiz employs 15 people. The asphalt company moved from Colton to the airport in 2003. Ortiz has prospered from growth at the airport.

“With all the development at the airport, everybody comes knocking on my door with business,” Ortiz said.

Film companies frequently use the airport as a backdrop for car commercials. Movies including “The Aviator” have been filmed at the facility.

Film shoots at the airport generated $200,000 for the airport last year, Chua said.

The future

Completion of the runway and improvements prompted the airport to advertise aggressively. Last year the airport spent $50,000 for advertising costs. This year that number will increase to $200,000.

The airport mails flyers in different languages, including Mandarin and Korean, to potential tenants in an effort to attract international cargo carriers.

“The trade growth is in Asia,” Chua said. “Seven out of 10 airlines ordering aircraft to cope with demand are Asian.”

San Bernardino Airport will never compete with Ontario International Airport for passenger traffic because it shares the same air traffic control space with Ontario. But San Bernardino expects to be a player in the cargo field.

“We have freeways, we have railroads and we can avoid congestion,” Ray said.

The airport expects to handle 300,000 tons of cargo by 2013 and 750,000 tons of cargo by 2023.

Los Angeles International Airport would like to see air cargo operations move inland, but Ontario won’t be able to handle all the cargo, economist John Husing said. “San Bernardino Airport has a good shot at getting these other cargo carriers.”

San Bernardino airport is redesigning its Web site as part of its advertising efforts. Chua is redesigning the Web site. The site will be online in September.

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