Aug. 25—GUILFORD COUNTY — An agreement reached this week between a company intending to build supersonic passenger jets and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority hints at eventual expansion by the startup aircraft manufacturer as the company develops its first production facility.
The memorandum of agreement indicates that Boom Supersonic has the option to double the size of its property from 61 to 122 acres if it needs to expand production.
Colorado-based Boom Supersonic announced this past January that it would build its aircraft manufacturing plant at Piedmont Triad International Airport to develop a new generation of supersonic commercial passenger jets. Grading is taking place now at the initial site on the southeast side of Interstate 73.
The memorandum states that Boom Supersonic has the preferred option "to lease a site of approximately 61 acres on the north side of Interstate 73 which could be used, along with the initial project site, for the company's expansion."
Boom Supersonic will have an option through Dec 31, 2030, to lease the site for an expansion. The expansion site would include an aircraft facility and aircraft ramp.
"If the company exercises its option to lease the expansion site, Piedmont Triad Airport Authority will rough grade the expansion site to grades that are mutually agreed to by the parties," the memorandum states.
The possibility of eventual expansion has come up before, but this adds some specifics.
The company has pledged to create up to 1,760 jobs and invest $500 million in the initial project through the end of the decade.
Construction of the aircraft manufacturing plant, which the company calls a "superfactory," is scheduled to begin in the fall, airport officials have told The High Point Enterprise. The memorandum of agreement indicates that it should be completed by the end of next year.
The 10-page memorandum of agreement between Boom Supersonic and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority indicates that Boom Supersonic will pay a lease of 10 cents per square foot for its manufacturing facility — which Boom Supersonic previously has said will cover 400,000 square feet — and that any expansion would have an initial rate of 10 cents per square foot.
The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority will lease the initial project site to Boom Supersonic under a 40-year agreement.
The airport and N.C. Department of Transportation will provide a road to the site, which will include a vehicle bridge crossing I-73 to the southwest of the taxiway bridge, according to the memorandum of agreement.
Also this week, the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority and the N.C. Department of Commerce finalized a separate, five-page memorandum of agreement focused on state economic incentives for the Boom Supersonic project. The incentives, which are based on Boom Supersonic reaching investment and workforce benchmarks, total $106.7 million.
The largest amount of the incentives — $56.7 million — will go toward reimbursing Boom Supersonic for design and construction costs. Another $35 million will pay for the road leading to the project site, while $15 million will go toward site work.
[email protected] — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul
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