Property Types Industrial
Secluded Caribbean Destination to Get $217M Airport
Aug 6, 2008
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Officials of St. Vincent and the Grenadines have made headway in the plan to make the multi-island country more accessible with the groundbreaking on the Argyle International Airport. The development, which carries a price tag of $217, million will mark the country's largest project ever to be undertaken.

The new facility will occupy a 375-acre parcel that is currently home to the Joshua Airport. Upon Argyle's scheduled completion in 2011, the former airport will be transformed for commercial use. Prime Minister Ralph E. Gonsalves and the International Airport Development Company (IADC) – the state-owned entity that will manage the airport – presided over the ground-breaking for the country’s first-ever international airport. Actual construction is slated to begin in August.

Set to replace St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ current E.T. Joshua Airport by late 2011, the Argyle International Airport – so named for the coastal area on St. Vincent that it will occupy – will effectively open up the 32-island nation to non-stop and direct flights from key U.S. and Canadian gateways, Latin America and such international capitals as London – driving new arrivals, generating jobs and spurring investment in tourism, commercial and agricultural sectors.

“News of our first international airport with its world-class design is already sparking new investments,” said Minister of Tourism Glen Beache in a statement. The project is the country’s largest, most expansive venture in its history. With 375 acres of land to be developed on the eastern coast of St. Vincent, the facility will feature a 9,000-foot runway, able to accommodate Boeing 747-400, 737, and 767, Airbus 300 and 320, as well as MD80 jet aircraft. In addition, a modern, well-conceived 53,820 square-foot terminal will give St. Vincent and the Grenadines the ability to cope with further future expansion.

Upon completion, the airport expects to employ some 400 workers. At that time, E.T. Joshua Airport, in operation since 1960, will be converted for use by commercial properties and businesses. Final plans and construction on that 63-acre site will proceed once most of the work on Argyle International Airport has been completed.

The Argyle International Airport will occupy $40 million in land purchased from local homeowners and farmers in Argyle, St. Vincent. The funding required to purchase this land is being raised by the local government’s sale of other state-owned land.

 
Recent Industrial Headlines
ML Realty, RREEF in Dallas-Ft. Worth Deal
An eight-building industrial portfolio changed hands as ML Realty Partners took 1.34 million square feet from RREEF Real Estate in the Fort Worth area, according to a report broken in The Dallas Morning News.
Equity International Brazilian Logistics Investment
Equity International, the privately-held investment company focused on real estate-related businesses operating outside of the United States, has announced the closing of a $100 million commitment in AGV Logística, a privately-held logistics company based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
ProLogis Expands Industrial Portfolio in Mexico
ProLogis plans to develop approximately 500,000 square feet of industrial warehouse space in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The firm is now beginning phase one of the development at ProLogis Park Centro Industrial Juarez in Ciudad Juarez.
Skinner Announces Move to Marlborough, Mass.
Skinner Inc., the  auction house, has announced it will move from its long-time Bolton, Mass. gallery to a new facility located at 274 Cedar Hill Street in Marlborough, Mass.
W.P. Carey Closes $58M Sale-Leaseback in Germany
New York City-headquartered W.P. Carey, acting through its publicly held non-traded REITs CPA(R):15 and CPA(R):17 - Global, has completed a sale-leaseback transaction in Germany with U.K.-based automotive supplier Wagon Plc.