Former flying-car factory could soon get new tenants

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Sierra Energy will turn Davis flying-car factory into 'maker space'

UC Davis makes connections with off-campus maker spaces

Co-working spaces grow beyond the grid

Tim Keller is working with Sierra Energy to launch a business incubator and maker space.

Craig Jones

The building in Davis is getting closer to opening as office and co-working space. But owners first need to find tenants and finish a lengthy remodel.

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Tim Keller is working with Sierra Energy to launch a business incubator and maker space.

Craig Jones

A former flying-car plant in Davis is getting closer to opening as office and co-working space. But owners first need to find tenants and finish a lengthy remodel.

Davis-based Sierra Energy bought the 35,000-square-foot building last September. The alternative-energy company will use a small part of the building for its own offices and its Sierra Railroad subsidiary. The rest will be leased for offices and co-working spaces, including an industrial co-working "maker space."

Tim Keller is working with Sierra Energy to launch a business incubator and maker space.

Craig Jones

The former factory, now known as Area 52, was once home to flying-car manufacturer Moller International. The name is a nod to the futuristic vehicles once planned there.

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The building still needs a little more work before tenants arrive. What was first estimated to be a $1.2 million renovation over six months has already burned through $2.6 million and it isn't open yet. Project coordinator Tim Keller is talking to potential tenants to figure out what kind of space they prefer, whether it's private office, open co-working space or access to tools and machines.

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The first tenants could arrive later this spring or sometime this summer, Keller said, adding that interest in the building has been strong. At an open house Sunday, prospective tenants toured the building's fully stocked machine shop and also saw some oddball amenities, such as a private handball court and a working wind tunnel.

The building's shop area contains a slew of equipment, such as drill presses, industrial metal lathes, routers and machining tools. Future tenants would have access to the equipment, Keller said.

The idea is to have Area 52 operate as a nonprofit, and allow startup businesses to incubate. It would also serve as vocational training center and as a shared maker space.

Having access to maker space is important to startups, Keller said.

The company wants to offer other startups a place to test prototypes and display them to potential investors. Keller said Sierra Energy has faced those same challenges while trying to commercialize its FastOx Gasifier, a garbage-to-fuel system. The company has three of the products at Area 52, and is now building a commercial-sized gasifier at Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County in partnership with the U.S. Army and California Energy Commission.

"We knew the technology worked. But investors wanted to see proof that it worked," Keller said. Having a place like Area 52 will provide that option for startups, he added.

University of California Davis's Venture Catalyst program recently partnered with Area 52 for that reason. The program wants to direct startups to off-campus facilities where they can work on business ventures.

Mark Anderson covers technology, agriculture, banking and finance, venture capital, energy, mining and hospitality for the Sacramento Business Journal.

Sierra Energy will turn Davis flying-car factory into 'maker space'

UC Davis makes connections with off-campus maker spaces

Co-working spaces grow beyond the grid

Source: Former flying-car factory could soon get new tenants