City Seeks Business Park Developer for Parcel at Palmdale Airport

The city of Los Angeles is seeking developers to build a sprawling business park on a portion of its vast airport lands near Palmdale, a long-awaited but possibly ill-timed attempt to attract activity to the area.

The city envisions construction of a 442-acre project, the largest yet on the mostly vacant 17,750-acre airport property, which the city has spent more than 20 years and $100 million to acquire for a regional airport. However, airport officials expressed some doubts about the potential level of developer interest in the business park.

“We’re going to try to see. We don’t know,” said city Department of Airports Executive Director Clifton Moore. Other airport officials said the current economic slowdown and sluggish real estate market could limit the number and quality of proposals.

The city on Thursday began mailing out applications to nearly 100 firms--from large national development companies to real estate offices--seeking development proposals for the vacant parcel. It is located between 15th and 25th Streets East and between Avenues P and P-12.

The land is just south of the existing temporary terminal for the city’s Palmdale Regional Airport, which resumed commercial air service in January, 1990, after a five-year hiatus. Two airlines--America West and SkyWest--serve the airport and operate about 13 flights a day.

Airport officials have said they want to extend a long-term lease to a single development firm that will draft a master plan for the project, tentatively called the Airport Commerce Center.

One airport official, who requested anonymity, said the city will be lucky to receive two serious responses. The city has set an Aug. 30 application deadline. The chosen project will face a detailed city approval process, including review from the Los Angeles City Council.

The city’s goals are “to generate the maximum amount of revenue for the city; to create the maximum amount of new jobs within the Antelope Valley; and to create the most attractive development possible,” according to the application.

The airport land, located in unincorporated county territory, is five times the size of the department’s 3,500-acre complex at Los Angeles International.

The department began buying the land in 1970 for an intercontinental airport. But plans have since been downsized to call for a regional airport.

Officials in adjoining Palmdale support the airport plans because the facility will generate jobs.