Feb. 06--Boeing Co. apparently doesn't like the appraised value of 320 acres it wants to buy at Charleston International Airport.
After nearly a 75-minute closed-door meeting Tuesday, a panel of Charleston County Aviation Authority members voted to ask for a second appraisal of the property along International Boulevard.
The meeting was called after Boeing delivered a letter to the airport's land oversight committee. The contents of that letter were not disclosed, but the meeting came one week after the panel voted to recommend to the full airport board that it adopt the Aviation Authority's appraised value of the land, rather than Boeing's independent land-value assessment by an Atlanta firm.
No one is saying how far apart the two sides are, but the panel's decision to ask for another appraisal suggests that Boeing is not happy with the price the airport is asking for the public property.
The committee's decision follows "the next step laid out in the contract for a determination of fair market value," according to panel member Ben Hagood, an attorney and former lawmaker. Hagood was acting as chairman of the land sale committee for former South Carolina congressman Tommy Hartnett, who was absent.
The decision does not preclude Boeing from seeking another appraisal of the land, Hagood said.
Boeing attorney Mark Fava was present, but he did not comment on the board's decision.
Boeing also wants the right of first refusal on 488 acres straddling Michaux Parkway and bordered by Dorchester Road and the Air Force Base. Additionally, the Chicago-based aerospace giant wants an option to buy 265 acres under its existing airplane-making site. Those properties are not part of the current negotiations.
Boeing has not said what it intends to do with the property, but Fava said in December the land is for anticipated future growth and it does not buy land to "bank" it.
Boeing has agreed to buy the land. The two sides are now bickering over the price.
Copyright 2013 - The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.
