photo credit: County of Sonoma

Sonoma County's airport is preparing for the possibility of new tenants according to airport manager Jon Stout.

"A few years ago, we acquired a home on North Laughlin, and we're trying to just find somebody that has some creative ideas on its use that can be for aeronautical or non aeronautical use," Stout said of one of the parcels out for development bid. "It was built in the 1880s, but it would make a really good bed and breakfast event center tasting room."

While a bed and breakfast in a historic Victorian evokes the most romantic visions for new ventures near the Charles Schulz Airport, Stout said practicality is behind recent moves to make space available for new development at Sonoma County's flight hub.

"Over the last couple years, we've gotten increased requests for new hangar space at the airport," Stout said. "Some people want small hangers, some people want large hangers, and so we reviewed what parcels of airport land we have available for development. We've identified seven parcels."

So how does the process work to transform the parcels up for bid?

"This is not selling off the grounds," Stout said. "This would be on a long-term lease. The proposer would build the facilities for themselves and own the improvements until the end of the life of the lease, somewhere between 30 to 40 years. At that point, it would revert to the airport and the airport's ownership."

There's been no formal bids yet, but Stout said there are some expectations for what these developments will look like.

"For most of these parcels we anticipate them to be like a corporate hangar," Stout said. "So somebody that owns their own aircraft or has their own flight department, they would build the the building and house their aircraft."

Stout gave a cost estimate for development on the various parcels.

"For the smallest parcel, you're probably looking at under [a] million and a half, to two million dollars for the development," Stout said. "The largest parcel, you could be 40 to $60 million depending on how much space and what they decide; but 14 acres, you can fit quite a few hangers on it."

Some of the airport parcels offered up for redevelopment include the old Pacific Coast Air Museum grounds and some of the original 1950's era hangars.