Airport to sign agreement with Coke
The Metro Airport could be a storage spot for Coca-Cola products.
The Airport Commission agreed Tuesday to enter into a six-month lease with the soft-drink maker to use part of the airport’s cargo facility as storage for Coca-Cola products. The Baton Rouge Coca-Cola Bottling Co. will rent the space for $12,500 a month, according to the proposed lease agreement. During the six-month period, the airport will work through details for a possibly longer lease.
“This is vacant property on the airport right now that’s not generating any income for us,” said Jonathan Starns, an airport commissioner, expressing support for the plan.
The airport went with the short six-month lease if only to keep its options open should another tenant like FedEx want to return to the Baton Rouge Metro’s cargo facility.
“We may end up with FedEx back, and we made need that building, which is going to generate a lot more money,” remarked Anthony Marino, director of aviation for Baton Rouge Metro Airport.
The board also agreed to move forward with plans to renovate the Marvin J. Roberts U.S. Army Reserve Center on Veterans Memorial Boulevard — which is airport property — to eventually be leased by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. The airport will spend $1,555,000 toward the renovation, which will later be reimbursed by the city-parish, Marino explained.
“Until those bonds are sold, in order to meet their (DHH) construction deadline by moving in by June 30, we have to appropriate the money to start the project, which will be in the bond issue,” Marino told the airport commission. “DHH picks up the payments on the bonds and they become the tenant of the building.
“In addition to the bond payments, there’s also rental on the building for lease space in occupying that facility,” he added. “So we were very fortunate to be able to find a tenant in the building … . We were actually contemplating demolishing, but DHH came up and wants to lease it.”