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    Google's jets may get their own $82 million complex at San Jose International Airport

    Google's jets may get their own $82 million complex at San Jose International Airport

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    Google San Jose airport proposal,
    Google San Jose airport proposal,

    The Mineta San Jose International Airport in California may be getting a new 29-acre, $82 million facility — that would exist in large part to store and service Google's private jets. In a statement today, the airport announced that it will be recommending that Signature Flight Support, a company that manages corporate aircraft, be granted a 50-year lease on land on the west side of the airport. Signature would then in turn build the new facility in a partnership with Blue City Holdings, San Jose, LLC — a corporation that represents the personal airplanes of Google's executives. The project, which would be built to Gold LEED standards, and would include hangars, an executive terminal, service facilities, and a ramp space that would be able to accommodate planes like the Boeing B767.

    The airport sees the deal as a boon not just for its own interests, but for the community at large. The airport would receive $2.6 million in annual rent under the deal, with up to 200 construction jobs being created as part of the project. After the fifth year of the deal, a minimum of $300,000 in additional tax revenue and $400,000 in fuel fees would also be guaranteed.

    A minimum of $700,000 a year in taxes and fuel fees

    Google has been trying to sort out its aircraft storage issues for some time now. The company had previously offered to restore Moffett Field, an iconic NASA structure designed to house military aircraft, in exchange for being able to keep its aircraft there. That deal never came together. While the new structure at San Jose International wouldn't be used for Google's aircraft alone — and in fact, the Mountain View Voice is reporting that Google hasn't given up on Moffett altogether just yet — the new structure would no doubt put many of the company's jet storage issues to rest. The San Jose City Council will hear the airport's recommendation this spring; an affirmative decision at that point would allow the plans to move forward.