Proposed DC-10 deal for Castle crashes. Hope remains that aviation businesses will come to former Air Force base.

Published: Friday, Sep. 2, 2011 - 6:01 am

ATWATER -- Officials at Castle Commerce Center had hopes in December of bringing in the Air Force's Missile Defense Agency, but that vision can now be chalked up as another disappointment for the county.

The proposed program hinged on a contract between the agency and a private contractor whose operations would be located at Castle Commerce Center's airport.

The agreement would have included improvements at Castle, mainly to one of its largest hangars, which would have housed a DC-10 airplane.

However, last month, county officials learned that the private contractor, MacAulay Brown, wasn't awarded the prime contract that would have brought the DC-10 to Castle.

The news was a setback for Castle, but the experience showed the possibilities that partnering with the private sector can bring to the area, said Mark Hendrickson, Merced County's director of commerce, aviation and economic development.

"You never know," he said. "These types of things come full circle sometimes."

Castle Air Force Base, where B-52s and other aircraft once were stationed, closed in 1995. The county has tried numerous development strategies at the site during the past 15 years but hasn't been able to convert it to the economic engine it could be.

The possibility of bringing advanced technology, jobs and revenue into the county with the Missile Defense Agency was a welcome thought, but there's more on the horizon that Castle can look forward to, Hendrickson said.

The Merced County Board of Supervisors approved a plan last month that will allow for an aviation business center to locate at Castle. The center would include an air cargo facility, charter operation, modern hangars and a cold storage facility for produce.

The applicant still has some hoops to jump through to secure funding, but experts estimate the center would bring nearly 700 jobs to the area.

A more concrete and immediate benefit to Castle is the arrival of Tulare Aircraft Services, or TASCO, a company that maintains Legacy C-130 planes for a variety of customers, including government.

TASCO signed a 20-year lease with the county for three buildings and will spend as much as $516,000 in the next three years to restore infrastructure at their location, said Fritz Wester, vice president and director of operations for TASCO and its sister company, TBM Inc., which focuses on research and development.

"We've been looking for a home since my partners and I purchased both companies about four years ago," Wester said, adding that county administrators were "wonderful" to work with during the process.

Staying in the state was important to Wester and his partners when they took over. "The last thing California needs is another business fleeing," he said.

And county officials wouldn't mind Castle serving as a landing strip for some of those businesses thinking about heading out of state.

Source:  http://www.sacbee.com