Fort Lauderdale, FL (January 26, 2016) - BROWARD DEVELOPERS HONE IN ON GROWING AVIATION SECTOR WITH INVESTMENT IN NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, EDUCATION AND THE COMMUNITY. After a unanimous Broward County Commission 9-0 vote, the Second Amendment to the Lease Agreement between Broward County and Diversified Aviation NP, LLC, was recently approved. The action called to modify Diversified’s lease, allowing the construction of a $3.5 million facility for the expansion of Broward College’s Aviation Institute. This approval comes after Diversified’s recent completion of Phase I, the construction of a brand new 33-unit hangar project.
“Aviation is of tremendous importance to the economy of Broward County and Southeast Florida, where some of the world’s leading aviation companies call home. Investments in aviation education will strengthen the workforce and create greater opportunity for our community in this key targeted industry,” said Bob Swindell, President & CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, Broward County’s official public/private partnership for economic development.
Diversified Aviation, a subsidiary of Diversified Realty Development Co, focuses on aviation related development. Diversified’s project at North Perry Airport offers clients a wide mix of hangar types and sizes, and features an exclusive Pilot's Lounge for its tenants. The lounge has TV's, a kitchenette, meeting rooms, and a game area for tenants to relax and share their love for Aviation. With Phase I completely leased up, Diversified is now taking reservation agreements for the additional hangars soon to be built in Phase II.
“It has been a very long road to get to this approval, and we could not have gotten it done without the support of our County Commissioners, the staff at North Perry Airport, Mike Stamm at the City of Pembroke Pines, and the Broward College staff and leadership. The completion of Phase I has been a great success and Phase II is only going to bring more aviation possibilities to North Perry Airport, Pembroke Pines, and the Broward County community,” said Cary Goldberg, President of Diversified Realty Development.
This comes as good news for North Perry Airport, as Diversified’s Phase I marked the first new construction of hangar space at the airport in over thirteen years. North Perry Airport, located in Pembroke Pines, Florida, has origins that date back to WWII when it was used as an emergency grass landing strip. Nowadays, it is home to private and charter aircraft operators, numerous flight schools, banner towing operators, aircraft and helicopter sales and repair stations, and several non-aviation related facilities such as Broward College, Broward County Mosquito Control, several community recreation facilities, and a City of Pembroke Pines Fire Station.
Diversified Aviation’s commitment to the local economy is shown by their contracting global steel building provider, Broward County’s own Fort Lauderdale headquartered Allied Steel Buildings, to supply and construct the vertical structures and new hangars for the project. “We are thrilled to be apart of such an amazing public private partnership with Broward College, Broward County and Diversified Aviation,” said Michael Lassner, President of Allied. “As the aviation and aerospace sector grows within our own company we are excited to help nurture the industry here locally in Broward County,” concluded Lassner.
A major component to the amendment allows for the expansion of Broward College’s Aviation Institute. Phase II of the project includes a 13,500 square foot building for the school. “We welcome the expansion of Broward College’s Aviation Institute at North Perry Airport. The educational opportunities this will create for Broward College students as well as the economic impact for North Perry Airport will be beneficial to the community,” said Broward County Aviation Department Director, Kent George. At the Aviation Institute at Broward College, students can learn to man the controls in a cockpit, safely direct air traffic, or work on the complex systems that make flight possible. A student studying at the Aviation Institute at Broward College has eight tracks from which to choose. The program offers state-of-the-art training grounds inclusive of a partnership with HOVA Flight Services, a unique link to the North Perry Airport and certified programs from the Federal Aviation (FAA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Currently, the Program has a waitlist of over 200 students. The new facility will be able to meet this demand and more.
“This next phase of development will go a long way to revitalize North Perry Airport. Broward County will see new construction jobs, added hangar space and the expansion of Broward College’s Aviation Institute once Phase II is complete. These improvements will also help serve the needs of the aviation community throughout South Florida,” said Broward County Commissioner Beam Furr, whose district includes North Perry Airport. “Specifically, I am very excited that this expansion will allow many more students to pursue a degree through the Broward College Aviation Institute. We know that aviation and aerospace have been growing industries throughout South Florida, and this development at North Perry Airport will create many new opportunities for a generation of students to launch their own careers in aviation,” concluded Commissioner Furr.
Russell McCaffery, Broward College’s Dean of Transportation said, “We are looking forward to expanding Broward College’s Aviation Institute, with the addition of the new campus facility approved to be built at North Perry Airport. Having a space at the airport will enable our school to continue offering our students the best resources available in aviation training.“
Diversified Aviation is planning to break ground on Phase II in the first quarter of this year and have a target completion date of November 2016. Once completed, the sky’s the limit for the future and revitalization of Broward County’s North Perry Airport.
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About Diversified Realty Development Co.
Diversified Realty Development was founded by Alan Goldberg and is a full-Service Real Estate Company located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with over 40 years of experience and several million square feet of Development in the State of Florida. Diversified is focused on all facets of the Real Estate Industry including: Development, Asset Management, Leasing, Brokerage, and Property Management. Development projects have included Retail, Medical, Aviation Hangar Space, Office, and Mixed-Use Commercial projects. For more information about Diversified, please visit http://www.diversifiedcos.com and http://www.diversifiedaviationnp.com.
