Airport in Thermal builds new hangars, terminal
A large construction project has taken off at the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport.
This airport is used by aviators as well as many of the musical acts and VIPs for the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals.
Fourteen new hangars and one terminal are being built by a partnership between Oliphant Aviation and Landmark Aviation. The hangars will be available for private aviation use on both a lease and sale basis.
“Here in the desert the weather is fairly harsh and currently in Palm Springs, Bermuda Dunes and even right here at Jackie Cochran Airport, there is no availability of hangars. They are either fully leased or fully sold, so our product will be just about the only thing available,” said Richard Oliphant, partner with Oliphant Aviation.
“There are numerous examples across the United States where older airports have become catalysts for economic development,” said Joe Wallace, Coachella Valley Economic Partnership‘s Interim CEO/president. “It is great to see that a private investor and CVEP board member is taking the bull by the horns to launch a commercial entity to leverage the airport’s resources.”
Landmark Aviation is building a new terminal which will replace an older building that will be torn down and made into a restaurant.
“People love coming to airports and this is a beautiful airport, and especially in season, people love to come out and watch the aircraft and see what’s taking place at the airport and this will be an extension of that,” said Dan Bucaro, president/CEO of Landmark Aviation.
This construction at the airport, which is owned by Riverside County, is just one of the many important projects going on in the east valley.
“This is the epicenter of future development in Riverside County, it may not look that way today, but if you look at the demographics, when you look at the space available, look at the infrastructure we have put in place in Thermal, it’s coming this way and we are going to see more development, more housing, more industry, and this is a symbol of it today,” said John J. Benoit, Riverside County Supervisor.
The first hangar should be built by the end of August. The new terminal should be complete by October, and the entire project is scheduled to be complete by February of next year.
