Sep. 9--A Wyoming aerospace startup is considering relocating its headquarters and production facilities to a vacant former U.S. Army Reserve Station hangar in Niagara County, in a $26 million project that could bring more than 360 engineering and professional jobs within three years of opening. 

The Sheridan, Wyo.-based company, Stavatti Aerospace Ltd., is seeking to develop and produce several new models of aircraft, including a smaller, more efficient and less expensive fire-fighting plane than the C-130s now commonly used for the purpose.

That's a potentially lucrative market, especially in Western states like California and Idaho, as well as Canadian provinces, that battle wildfires every year.

The aerospace and defense company -- which has unveiled multiple designs over the past 20 years but has yet to produce an aircraft -- has been looking across North America for a suitable location from which to operate its prototype facility. It's narrowed its search to a handful of sites -- including Western New York.

It is eyeing the 150,000-square-foot complex at 9400 Porter Road, in the Town of Niagara, adjacent to the Niagara Falls International Airport.

The company proposes to buy the 15.1-acre property from Gordon Reger's Reger Holdings of West Seneca for $1.3 million, and then repair, modify and improve the building, turning it into an aircraft research and design facility. It would also serve as Stavatti's temporary new headquarters while it seeks a permanent office, according to documents submitted to the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency.

The firm says it will start with 42 jobs. But officials are projecting creation of 363 jobs within three years -- including 234 professional positions earning an average of $150,000 and 45 production jobs earning an average of $90,000. That would yield a total payroll of $48.44 million, as well as total state and regional tax revenues of $85.17 million over 15 years, according to NCIDA documents.

Officials project 596 long-term jobs in five years -- assertions that were met with some incredulity among NCIDA directors on Wednesday.

The company is asking the NCIDA for a 15-year payment in lieu of taxes, and both sales and mortgage recording tax breaks, totaling $2.15 million. A public hearing will be scheduled.

This is the second time Stavatti has looked to establish a foothold in Western New York for aircraft production. It previously eyed the former Bell Aircraft Co. plant in Wheatfield in 1998.

Stavatti is led by Christopher R. Beskar, its founder, chairman and CEO, who owns 50% of the company.

He has already designed all-weather attack planes, fighters and transport aircraft, and is working on several new prototypes, including a forest-fire-fighting plane dubbed the SM-118.

Along with two other models still being developed, it is one of the prototypes that would be produced in Niagara, said John R. Simon, Stavatti's chief strategic development and asset officer, who is leading the effort for Stavatti.

Simon formerly served as executive director of the NCIDA from 1997-2003. He has also been involved in other local ventures in recent years, including an effort to bring a World Weather Center to Niagara Falls.

The firm has been working closely with the NCIDA and Invest Buffalo Niagara for some time, "demonstrating that there was an interest from this community for Stavatti to locate its facility here," Simon said.

However, it's not a sure thing. Stavatti has been engaged in a site search across North America for the past 18 months, and received responses from municipalities involving over 40 airports in 30 states and three Canadian provinces. Officials met with various U.S. governors and Canadian transportation ministers and interviewed "a tremendous number of consultants and administrators" across the country, Simon said.

So while "Niagara County and the Niagara Falls became very interesting to us," Simon said, there are several others still in play, including Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, Dayton in Ohio and Winnipeg in Canada. "This is a competitive process."

That's where the NCIDA would come into play. Simon cited the availability of machine shops near the airport and the local "educational infrastructure" as benefits. He also noted the potential for partnerships with local colleges and universities.

But taxes are high in New York, and Simon said the aging complex would require significant work. The site has 10 structures in all, dating to the 1960s but in varying conditions, with old boilers, an an aging power substation and failing roof materials. Three buildings may come down. There are some tenants with month-to-month leases, including for storage, but they will not be renewed, according to the NCIDA application.

Project costs include $3.5 million for renovation, $5.8 million for new machinery, equipment and a new HVAC system, $14.025 million for prototypes, test rigs and tooling, and $1.25 million for professional and other soft costs. The firm says it will fund the project with $23.3 million in bank financing and $2.59 million in equity.

But without tax breaks, an energy incentive and "other public assistance" like construction, renovation or training benefits, "Stavatti will not locate here and change its preferred location elsewhere," the company said in its NCIDA application.

The project also requires a rezoning by the town board, which is reviewing the project and conducting a standard environmental review, with a public hearing. That process won't be complete until at least Oct. 14.

The project would also require local site plan approval, other zoning variances and approvals from the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration.

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