SR Aviation Infrastructure (SRAI), a subsidiary of New York and Nashville-based real estate investment firm SomeraRoad, has launched a new aviation infrastructure platform with the acquisition of the Quail Air Center at Harry Reid Las Vegas International airport in Nevada. The 23-acre Quail Air Center consists of 37 individually leased general aviation hangars located just off the Las Vegas Strip.

“Quail Air Center is one of the premier general aviation facilities in the country, offering best-in-class hangar infrastructure and an unparalleled location just steps from the Las Vegas Strip,” notes Jonathon Reeser, president of SR Aviation Infrastructure. “We have been working on the acquisition of this incredible asset for a long time and have large aspirations for the role this initial crown jewel can play in the scaling of a larger aviation infrastructure platform. Las Vegas continues to see immense growth that further positions the city as not only the entertainment capital of the world but also a premier and diversified US metropolis. Quail Air Center will continue to sit at the centre of the action, meeting the ever-growing demand for private aviation infrastructure.”

A prized hangar complex uniquely positioned within Harry Reid International airport, the eighth busiest airport in the US, Quail Air Center encompasses 268,000 sq ft of hangar space and 32,000 sq ft of adjacent office space. Quail Air Center is currently 100 per cent occupied, as it has been since it opened in 1985.

“We see tremendous opportunity for SR Aviation Infrastructure to aggregate the highly fragmented aviation infrastructure sector to an institutional scale,” states Monte Koch, senior advisor to SRAI. “This is an industry that is seeing tremendous demand growth due to a litany of drivers but meanwhile suffers from highly challenging constraints to new supply. We have assembled a team of aviation industry experts and are excited to build the platform to take advantage of this unique opportunity.”

SR Aviation Infrastructure will acquire and develop aviation infrastructure assets with a focus on general aviation, corporate, FBO and MRO hangar opportunities. Quail Air Center will act as the seed acquisition for the platform. The team has identified a near-term pipeline of additional opportunities to acquire as it scales.

The aviation infrastructure space presents one of the most compelling opportunities in real estate today. The increase in private air travel and ownership, combined with limited new airport development, particularly for general aviation, leaves many airports at 100 per cent occupancy with lengthy waitlists. The supply and demand imbalance presents an excellent opportunity for SR Aviation Infrastructure and SomeraRoad.