It goes without saying that throughout aviation history JFK International Airport has been regarded as the premier gateway into the United States. With millions of foreign visitors and tons of exotic cargo passing through it each year, the airport has come to resemble a complex international intersection, where air service links different cultures to one node and where each nation stations its stately flag carrier, a source of great pride for foreigners and U.S. citizens alike.

Over the years, time began to take its toll on the airport. So the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey initiated an aggressive capital improvement program to revitalize the airfield and to upgrade obsolete facilities that were no longer serving their intended purpose.

Cargo Sector B was among the areas designated for a complete overhaul, and Airis was selected as the right private developer for the project. After all, the company was the most seasoned group in this new niche business, having just completed the Newark International Air Cargo Center in 1999. Airis' Newark facility was the Port Authority's first venture with the private sector in which a private developer shouldered all responsibilities and risks, such as planning, financing, construction and tenant occupancy, and in which a developer continued to manage the facility as landlord upon construction completion. The Port Authority bestowed a lot of faith in Airis, evidenced through awarding Airis a long-term ground lease prior to ground breaking, and prior to delivery of a fully constructed, fully functional facility. As with Newark, Airis would not let the Port Authority down.

On August 15, 2001, Airis closed on the financing of the JFK project, once again utilizing tax-exempt bonds issued this time by the New York City Industrial Development Agency. The well-grounded dynamics of the project coupled with the strong operational oversight by Airis and the support of the Port Authority resulted in an investment grade rating without the need of an underlying credit enhancement such as bond insurance.

The support of City of New York and of the Port Authority was crucial to the success of the project. Were it not for a strong spirit of cooperation between the two governing entities and were it not for a separate agreement with the City allowing Airis to continue operating the facility past the date when the master lease of the airport is set to expire, delivery of a competitively priced project would have been next to impossible.

Tenant Leases

The tenants of Tracts 8 & 9A-Lufthansa Cargo, Alliance Airlines and CSC-will enjoy many advantages associated with long-term leases at strategically-located sites at JFK. Not only is operating at JFK vitally important to any one of world's major air carriers, but even more so is securing a long-term facility lease, which grants the carrier the ability to plan for the long term. Lufthansa Cargo, Alliance and CSC each hold executed subleases specifically structured to support the expected growth of the JFK cargo market. Each tenant has a base 5, 10 or 15-year lease term, followed by 5-year renewal options with the right to expand incrementally at each renewal year should their neighboring tenant elect to relocate or reduce their respective space commitment. Effectively, this built-in flexibility allows a tenant to keep space commitments in line with the cargo growth rate of the airport.

Airis structures tenant subleases according to the "absolute net" or "triple net" policy. All airport services, ground rents, taxes, insurance, operating and utility costs are solely the responsibility of the tenants and are passed through Airis directly to the tenant without mark-up.

Site Advantages

The site, located within Cargo Area B, provides easy ground access to major transportation routes to Manhattan and is within close proximity to the passenger terminals, the Central Terminal Area, reducing ground transfer time of lower-deck or "belly" cargo being sent to and from passenger aircraft. Direct access to Taxiways A and B, JFK's two high-speed taxiways connecting to the main runways, shortens ground-time for freighter aircraft, which significantly improves unit cost performance. With many built-in efficiencies and with site proximity advantages, tenants of Tracts 8 & 9A will enjoy new levels of cargo throughput efficiency, all of which will support an enhanced bottom line.

As an added value to the marketing side of the cargo business, the site is favorably situated alongside the Van Wyck Expressway, also the main entry to the passenger terminals. This adjacency places the tenant companies in prominent view of the passing public (estimated at 160,000 people daily upon completion of the light rail system), further enhancing service profiles.

Project Details
Tract 8
Site Area ac.	24
Parking Spaces	311
Truck Docks	56
Aircraft Positions	4 - 747.400
Cargo Space sq. ft.	206,019
GSE Space sq. ft.	3,090
Office Space sq. ft.	53,406
Total Area sq. ft.	262,515
Tract 9A
Site Area ac.	18
Parking Spaces	204
Truck Docks	45
Aircraft Positions	2 - 747.400
Cargo Space sq. ft.	137,836
Office Space sq. ft.	34,264
Total Area sq. ft.	172,100