“We’re pleased that the evaluation process for the
development of Mineta San José International Airport’s
West Side is now complete, and the recommended outcome
will prove to be incredibly prosperous for SJC, the City
of San José, and Silicon Valley,” said Director of
Aviation Bill Sherry.
“The Airport completed a $1.4 billion upgrade to
the terminal area in 2010, and by adding convenient
employee and public parking next to the terminals, this
opened up a significant amount of land on the West Side.
Now, our focus must be the proposed private development
and $82 million investment of the West Side by Signature
Flight Support, to support the private aviation needs of
local high-tech and other companies, most notably the
personal aircraft of the principals at Google.”
Proposals for development of Silicon Valley Airport’s
West Side were reviewed by an evaluation panel,
including: staff of SJC and the City of San José; a
representative with real estate expertise from a
similar-size commercial service airport, with
significant corporate and general aviation activity, in
California; and a former FBO executive.
Signature’s proposal scored a total of 991 out of a
possible 1,000 points, and the panel found the proposal
to be both thorough and of very high quality, offering
excellent opportunities for corporate aviation services
to SJC’s general aviation customers. Signature was found
to be a financially stable company with strong financial
indicators and will likely be a significant economic
asset for the City of San José.
Signature Flight Support is the largest FBO in the world
(113 locations on five continents).
It is part of BBA Aviation Corporation, a British
corporation, and is a publicly traded company listed on
the London Stock Exchange.
In the U.S., Signature has FBO facilities at
airports in Chicago/O’Hare, Teterboro/New Jersey,
Boston/Logan, San Francisco and Palm Springs, among
other commercial and general aviation airports.
“Signature Flight Support is proud to be chosen as the
successful bidder for the West Side Development project
at Mineta San Jose International Airport, to build a
state-of-the art, world class FBO to serve as a key
location in Signature’s global network,” said Maria
Sastre, President and Chief Operating Officer of
Signature Flight Support. “We’re proud to bring all of
the resources that Signature can offer to further
business and general aviation as well as our
long-standing track record of good corporate citizenship
to the San Jose and Silicon Valley communities.”
The adopted Airport Master Plan identifies the West
Side of the Airport for development of facilities to
accommodate a projected growth in general aviation
service demand.
Development areas include 44 acres located
directly north of the FAA Airport Traffic Control
Tower (holding 12 acres in reserve as potential
mitigation area) and 15 acres in the southwest area,
which is the current tie-down area for general
aviation aircraft and the former San Jose State
University Aviation facility. A Request for
Proposals (RFP) process included a draft RFP
released in June 2012 and a final RFP issued in
August 2012, including an extensive effort to ensure
all potential respondents had the opportunity to
comment and submit proposals.
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