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Charlotte/Douglas International Airport will pay Wells Fargo $3.2 million for three hangars, a fuel farm and another building the bank owns at the airport, as the San Francisco-bank closes down its private jet fleet left over from Wachovia.
In ending the bank's relationship with the airport, Wells Fargo will sell the buildings to Charlotte/Douglas, which will attempt to lease them to other corporations. The bank still had nine years remaining on a ground lease, at $216,000 annually. Those remaining payments were applied to the cost of the buildings, which Wachovia built.
The Charlotte City Council approved the deal Monday night.
After buying Wachovia last year, Wells Fargo closed the Charlotte-based bank's Hawk aire aviation subsidiary and planned to sell its five planes. Its downsizing was part of a trend nationwide of less corporate flying due to the recession, as well as public anger over taxpayer-funded bailouts.
Aviation director Jerry Orr said the airport will eventually be able to lease the old Wachovia hangars.
"It's really slow right now, but we think the market will come back over time," Orr said. "It's already picked up a little bit. Our fuel sales are trending upward."
When the economy was strong in September 2006, Charlotte/Douglas had 2,813 general aviation takeoffs and landings. There were 2,164 takeoffs and landings this September - a nearly 25 percent decrease. Orr had said that Wells Fargo had laid off about 20 pilots in Charlotte earlier this year.
The Wachovia hangars are in the northeast part of the airport.
The airport earlier this year bought a hangar that belonged to Coca-Cola Consolidated, and now owns all airport hangars except those owned by Duke Energy and Bank of America.
