NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Boeing Co. wants land it acquired last December in North Charleston, South Carolina, to be rezoned to give the company flexibility to increase its operations there, the Post &Courier’s Warren Wise reported.
The North Charleston City Council is considering the rezone request Thursday. It includes allowing aircraft manufacturing on 80 of the 466 acres leased last year from the state. The land is adjacent to Boeing’s 787 plant there.
The application states that approving the rezoning request would give Boeing “the flexibility to expand its operational and physical footprint in the region as an aircraft manufacturer,” Wise reported.
The company says in the proposal that “the acreage uses are in the conceptual design stage and could change,” according to the article.
Wise also says that a wetlands mitigation plan filed by Boeing in December shows an expanded 787 flight line with 16 stalls — compared to seven currently — and adding 3.4 million square feet of manufacturing space and 400,000 square feet of office space, starting in 2016.
Boeing recently announced plans to have the 787-10 Dreamliner assembled only in North Charleston.
Right now, the 787 production rate is 10 a month — seven assembled in Everett and three in North Charleston. The company’s plan is to keep Everett at the same rate, while increasing South Carolina’s rate to seven by the end of the decade.
Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
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