• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 10, 2014

The Google subsidiary Planetary Ventures LLC has signed a deal with NASA to lease Moffett Field for the next 60 years. As part of the lease, Google will take over operations of Moffett Airfield, but the U.S. government retains ownership of the land.

As part of the deal, Planetary Ventures will invest more than $200 million to make capital improvements in the property. The company also commits to several upgrades that will benefit the public on completion. Some include refurbishing and protecting historic Hangar One in accordance with standards for historic properties by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

It also means rehabilitating historic Hangars Two and Three, operating MFA in accordance with the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for public and private use; and creating an educational facility where the public can explore the site's role in technology.

Google's subsidiary will pay $1.16 billion in rent to the government during the 60 years, excluding $6.3 million a year in maintenance and operation costs. Larry Page and Sergey Brin have been using the airfield for their company jets.

"We look forward to rolling up our sleeves to restore the remarkable landmark Hangar One, which for years has been considered one of the most endangered historic sites in the United States,” said David Radcliffe, VP of Real Estate and Workplace Services at Google, in a prepared statement.

Once renovations are complete, Hangar One will become home to Planetary Ventures' high-tech innovations and begins using the historic facility for research, development, assembly and testing in the areas of space exploration, aviation, rover/robotics and other emerging technologies. Hangars Two and Three will be used for similar purposes.