EVERETT — An aircraft collector’s dream of creating new museums and restoration hangars on the west side of Paine Field could be headed toward a real decision sometime soon.
John Sessions wants Snohomish County to provide airport land for the project next to the to the Historic Flight Foundation hangar that he opened five years ago. The County Council has set a hearing for 10:30 a.m. Dec. 9, though a vote might not happen until later.
The hearing date will mark two years to the day since Sessions first pitched his idea to county leaders.
“It’s probably a good time to make a decision,” Sessions said this week. “If this is approved, and I hope it is, I’m going to have to convince people here and abroad that there is commitment by the county. Taking two years to make a decision — I guess that’s what they call deliberate speed.”
The plan calls for five new buildings along taxiway Kilo 6.
To make Sessions’ idea work, Snohomish County would have to provide more than 12 acres for free or at nominal rent. The land would be held by a specially created development authority and the facilities run by a separate nonprofit. The structure would resemble the one used by the Museum of Flight at King County’s Boeing Field in Seattle.
Sessions said he aims to create something similar in feel, but smaller in scale, to Duxford, England, attracting aeronautic buffs from around the world.
While he’s known locally for his interest in vintage aircraft, Sessions’ work centers on real estate development near the Bakken oil fields of western North Dakota and eastern Montana.
An intriguing question is how the aviation campus would change tourism at Paine Field, which is already home to Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection, the Museum of Flight Restoration Center and the Future of Flight &Boeing Tour.
Sessions said he’s talked to museums around the world about sharing parts from their collections. He said the county would benefit from the tourist traffic and could derive revenue from an admissions tax to make up for the free or reduced rent.
Paine Field officials have questioned whether it’s a wise financial move. They say they have received inquiries from private businesses interested in leasing the land at market rate for uses such as corporate hangars. The airport is an enterprise fund, meaning that it’s self-supporting through fees and grants.
County Councilman Brian Sullivan, a strong backer of Sessions’ plan, isn’t swayed by the doubts. He’s been critical of airport staff for presenting a draft report in October that challenged the proposal’s economic benefits.
“The staff work done by John Sessions clearly shows that much of that report is incorrect,” Sullivan said.
That’s not the only wrinkle.
An attorney for a neighboring corporate hangar plans to speak at the upcoming hearing about his client’s lawsuit against Sessions, Historic Flight and related entities.
Everett Hangar, a subsidiary of a Kirkland-based apartment property management firm called Weidner Investment Services, bases two corporate jets next door.
In a 2014 lawsuit, Everett Hangar accused Historic Flight of blocking its access to a taxiway and failing to stop patrons from wandering onto its property. It won an injunction and a $860,000 judgment earlier this year. That outcome is under appeal.
Whatever happens, Sessions said the Historic Flight Foundation has outgrown its 18,000-square-foot hangar on Bernie Webber Drive. The new buildings in Sessions’ plan would average about 30,000 square feet. Historic Flight’s collection focuses on aircraft built from 1927 to 1957.
“We need to expand our physical plant,” he said. “It’s not just the aircraft storage, it’s the facilities for hosting school classes and conducting seminars and a range of activities.”
A DC-3 that had been parked outside the Historic Flight hangar was moved a week ago, after the Nov. 17 storms lashed the area, Sessions said. There are also plans to move the collection’s B-25 Mitchell bomber after completing obligations in December.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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