NIC to lease land near Cd'A Airport

COEUR d'ALENE - North Idaho College Trustees gave the go-ahead Wednesday for the college to enter into a lease for property near Coeur d'Alene Airport.

The 5-acre property and buildings on West Dakota Avenue will house the college's new aerospace manufacturing and aviation maintenance programs.

"It's a good facility and it's not going to need much work," said Mark Browning, NIC's vice president of community relations and marketing.

The first 16 months of rent under the five-year lease will be funded through a $3 million grant NIC was awarded in September to create an aerospace center to meet the workforce demands of the aerospace industry in North Idaho and help veterans and displaced workers in need of retraining.

The base rent is $4,900 per month, and the lease is subject to a non-appropriation clause. The clause provides a means for the contract to be terminated without penalty should a future board be unable to appropriate funding for the rental in the college's annual budget.

There are two buildings on the property that combined, provide 12,000 square feet of space.

Browning said the college will move its Outdoor Power Recreation Vehicle program out of a building NIC currently leases on Ramsey Road. The savings from rent on that building will cover the cost of rent on the new facility after 16 months, he said.

The building should be ready for students in August.