Northwest Powercats recently signed a 30-year lease at the airport, which is owned by the Port of Bremerton, that takes effect on July 1. The Gig Harbor firm plans to tear down an old maintenance facility and construct a hangar and 20,000-gallon fuel tank for its twin-engine turbo aircraft.

Northwest Powercats, along with Oliver Marine International of New Zealand, builds high-end, ocean-going cabin cruisers. The plane will be used to shuttle potential clients throughout the Northwest.

Company president David Lindow has an option to build another hangar that it can sublet to corporations for one or two other planes. According to Tim Thomson, operations director for the port, there are two “very serious” prospects interested in using the firm’s’ fueling facility.

“This is the first permanent corporate presence at Bremerton National Airport,” Thomson said. “It takes the airport to the next level of aviation development.”

Less than two months ago, the port signed a lease with Avian Flight Center to sell aviation fuel as the airport’s fixed base operator.

Port commissioners don’t believe a change in Northwest Powercats’ lease, which will allow it to fuel aircraft in the hanger, will hurt Avian. Avian gets first crack at working a deal to pump the fuel. The port will also get a cut of each gallon pumped by Northwest Powercats, just as it does from Avian.

Avian is also positioned to pick up some other work from the new tenants, such as aircraft cleaning, towing and waste removal.