Transportation

Cessna has contracted Wichita-based The Law Co. to build its new $60-million Citation Service Center in Wichita. Doubling the capacity of the current building, the 447,259-sf facility will house component repair and overhaul shops, multiple aircraft service bays, a customer business center, and office space. Designed by McCluggage Van Sickle & Perry of Wichita, the project is located on a 124-acre site leased to Cessna by the Wichita Airport Authority. Construction is expected to take approximately 18 months, reaching completion in the fourth quarter of 2004.

Ford Motor Co. will begin construction in June 2003 on a new parts distribution facility in McDonough, Ga. The 231,000-sf facility will replace a 627,000-sf McDonough building; Ford is replacing approximately ten larger parts facilities nationwide with a network of 21 regional facilities serving smaller geographic areas. Construction firm ARCO Design/Build has been selected as general contractor for the distribution warehouse to be sited on 23 acres in the Greenwood Industrial Park. Occupancy is slated for March 2004.

British Airways has awarded EMCOR Group a three-year contract valued at $40 million annually to be the airline's single-source provider of facilities management services for the majority of British Airway's UK property portfolio. The new agreement continues an 11-year relationship with British Airways that was the airline's first outsourcing of facilities management in the UK.  

Toyodabo Manufacturing Kentucky LLC is planning to construct a $9.8 million manufacturing facility in Lebanon, Ky. The facility will manufacture molded headliners for the automobile industry and is expected to begin production in 2004. The company is a division of Kariya, Japan-based Toyoda Boshoku Corp. Toyadabo's primary customer is Toyota Motor Corp.

Stewart & Stevenson Services will open a new 18,000-sf training center in Houston's Garden Oaks industrial area in May of 2003. The facility will house classrooms and labs for diesel engine and transmission training for Stewart & Stevenson technicians, customers, and dealers. Stewart & Stevenson, based in Houston, is a distributor of diesel engines and a diversified manufacturer of products including commercial aircraft ground-support equipment and U.S. Army vehicles.

South Korea-based Samlip Industrial Co. is planning a new 130,000-sf facility in Alexander City, Ala., for the manufacture of automotive lighting parts and systems. The $53-million facility will be sited on 50 acres in the Alexander City Airport Industrial Park and will employ 400 workers. The automotive supplier will begin construction on the facility in August 2003 with occupancy slated for September 2004.

The Boeing Co. is constructing a 140,000-sf complex in St. Louis where it will fuel, install avionics and prepare for test flights T-45s (Navy jet trainers), F-15s and F/A-18s. The $104-million complex will include a hangar, painting facilities, "hush houses" for testing jet engines, and shelters for airplanes awaiting work. The hangar will house office space and three "clear span" bays for airplane work. The project began construction in July 2002 and is slated for completion in January 2004. Contractor for the project is McCarthy.

FlightSafety Boeing Training International will construct a $60-million aviation training center in Atlanta. The 52,000-sf facility is expected to begin operations in January 2004 and will house six full-flight simulators and associated training activities. Employing 50 full-time workers, the center will train up to 7,000 pilots annually. FlightSafety Boeing is soon to be renamed Alteon.

Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. of Bologna, Italy, a manufacturer of racing motorcyles, has relocated its North American headquarters to Cupertino, Calif., from New Jersey. The 12,000-sf facility, desirable in its proximity to the highest-selling Ducati dealerships in the U.S., was previously occupied by Apple Computer.

Toyota Motor Corp. will spend $800-million to construct its sixth North American vehicle manufacturing plant in southwest San Antonio. Sited on 2000 acres, the facility will begin to produce 150,000 Tundra pickups annually in 2006.

The Port of Oakland is planning a $1.4-million Terminal Expansion Program (TEx) at the Oakland International Airport. The first phase of the multiyear program will include renovation and expansion of Terminal 2 and construction of two new facilities, a customer service building and a seven-level parking garage.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a producer of business jet aircraft, has awarded UNICCO Service Company a $41-million, five-year contract to provide integrated facilities services for Gulfstream's manufacturing, completions, offices, and service facilities in Georgia. Contract services include plant operations, equipment maintenance and test equipment calibration, ground support, facilities engineering, space allocation, and subcontractor management.

NT Techno USA, a Japanese auto parts manufacturer, is planning to construct a 60,000-sf distribution facility in Oxford, N.C. The facility will be sited on 26-acres under contract for purchase and will employ 50 workers.

The $17.9-million Regional Transportation Center is under construction in San Diego. Located on a 1.4-acre site in City Heights, the project will feature a 60,000-sf facility that will promote awareness of alternative fuel vehicles. The building is being funded via a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and by the San Diego Environmental Foundation, Ford Motor Co., Pearson Ford, California Air Resources Board, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the city of San Diego.

Aviation Institute of Maintenance has relocated to a $2-million, 16,000-sf facility constructed for the school by Turner Construction at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport.  Formerly known as the Quaker City Institute of Aviation, the school moved to its new location from South Philadelphia.