Castle Commerce Center land purchase in Atwater passes its first hurdle

Merced County supervisors took the first steps this month in selling land at Castle Commerce Center to a company that has called the former Air Force base home since 2006.

Sierra Air Center Development LLC has offered the county $750,000 for the sale of a 45,000-square-foot building and 7.43 acres of land, according to county records. The company is affiliated with Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, an Atwater flight school that trains pilots from China, Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution to begin the property sale. Another vote from the supervisors is needed to finalize the sale, which is expected at a board meeting next month.

Sierra had been leasing the building since March of last year, according to Mark Hendrickson, Merced County community and economic development director. The company uses at least 10 different facilities at Castle under multiple leases with the county.

This is the sixth company to buy property at Castle, Hendrickson said. Others include Big Creek Lumber, Hoffman Electronic Systems and APG Solar.

Buying land at the former Air Force base was simplified thanks to a 2013 bill written by Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, that eliminated a lengthy public auction process.

Whether businesses choose to temporarily lease or purchase property at Castle, Hendrickson said it all fits into the county’s goal of seeing maximum reuse of the former Air Force base.

“It is certainly an unstated goal of the county to privatize the property, which would include both selling and leasing the property,” Hendrickson said. “Ultimately, the county would like to see as many businesses locate to Castle as possible.”

County officials said selling Castle’s land to private entities, such as Sierra, provides certain advantages to the county. The county wouldn’t be responsible for maintenance within the buildings and buyers can make decisions on when to grow their businesses.

That’s one of the reasons Sierra decided to buy the Castle property, according to Bob Deklinski, director of airport development for Sierra Air Center Development.

“It gives us better control over what we do with the property,” Deklinski said. “Castle has been the perfect location for us because of the accessibility of land and property. It allows us to expand and flourish as a business.”

The building is being used to house an exact replica of a Boeing 737 flight simulator to train students and recertify airline pilots, Deklinski said. Last October, Sierra extended the roof of the building to install the 11-ton simulator, as spectators and politicians looked on. The simulator will be ready for full use in April.

Deklinski said the $750,000 for the land purchase is coming from Sierra’s investors, the flight academy and private funds.

This story was originally published January 19, 2015 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Castle Commerce Center land purchase in Atwater passes its first hurdle."