As it prepares for the early June opening of a temporary FBO at Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal, Calif., Desert Jet Center has broken ground on a permanent $5 million home. The FBO will be the third service provider at the airport.

“Today is the culmination of a vision that began more than five years ago to bring a full-service aviation company to the city of Thermal, the County of Riverside and the [Coachella] valley,” noted Desert Jet president and founder Denise Wilson. The company already offers Part 145 maintenance and aircraft charter and management services at Thermal, and announced late last year that it will be entering the FBO arena there as well.

An initial building schedule was delayed to accommodate required architectural revisions to improve landside access, according to the company. With a revised completion date of next January, the five-acre Desert Jet Center will provide a 10,000-sq-ft terminal, office and maintenance space, along with a 22,500-sq-ft hangar that can accommodate G650-size business jets thanks to its 130-foot-wide, 28-foot-tall doors. The company signed on as an Epic-branded dealer, and is in the process of installing its fuel tank farm, which when complete will hold 48,000 gallons of jet-A.