Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, and Tarrant County College (TCC) today announced an agreement through which TCC will purchase Bell Helicopter’s Military Programs Center facility at the Fort Worth Alliance Airport. The purchase of the 161,000-square-foot facility will enable TCC to expand its already successful aircraft maintenance programs currently offered at the college’s Northwest Campus. TCC plans to occupy the facility in June 2014.

As an extension of TCC’s Northwest Campus, the new facility will provide TCC the necessary space to offer several new programs including Composite Technology, Logistics Technology, Aviation Welding Technology, Transportation Technology and a Pilot Training Program. Currently, approximately 2,500 students are enrolled in TCC’s Aircraft Mechanic/Technician (AERM), Aviation and Airway Management and Operations (AVNC) and Airline Professional Pilot (AIRP) programs, with projected program growth of 15% per year. Once the agreement, brokered by Jones Lang LaSalle, has been finalized, TCC will pay $16 million for the property.

“In addition to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Love Field, there are nine other regional or municipal airports in the Metroplex, representing an important source of jobs for successfully trained workers,” says TCC Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley. “To ensure that we are delivering the best-trained and most job-ready students to our local aerospace and aviation industries, collaboration with local aviation and aerospace companies will continue to be critical for our students’ success. Our agreement to purchase the Military Programs facility from Bell Helicopter means that we can expand our program and, more importantly, we can be sure our students are receiving the advanced training they need to hit the ground running after graduation.”

“We’re proud to support TCC’s expansion efforts through the sale of our facility at Alliance to the benefit of our industry,” said John L. Garrison, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter. “We are continuing to explore opportunities with TCC to offer advanced technical training for desired skill sets essential to our manufacturing and maintenance processes.”

The sale of the Military Programs Center is congruent with Bell Helicopter’s plan to reduce its local footprint by consolidating outlying facilities to its revitalized main campus. Bell Helicopter will lease the property back from TCC through March 2014 when its new Global Headquarters building is scheduled for completion.

Bell Helicopters press release