Commission Chair Wonders if Silicon Bank Relates to Hanscom Project

The chair of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission wonders whether the failure this month of Silicon Valley Bank has any impact on a proposed massive hangar project.

Christopher Eliot of Lincoln added that the “SVB collapse,” an item under the category North Airfield, will be explored at next Tuesday’s virtual meeting of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission.   

“At this point, I don’t know if there will be any impact on the Hanscom project, but the connection raises unanswered questions,” Eliot said in an email.

One of the principals of the two limited liability companies proposing nearly 500,000 square feet of additional hangar space near Hartwell Road is Jeffrey Leerink, who is also CEO of SVB Securities.

SVB Securities and Silicon Valley Bank have the same parent company. But Leerink’s company said in an announcement last weekend that “SVB Securities has maintained its financial and operational independence and has operated largely autonomously as a standalone subsidiary.”

In the same announcement Leerink states, “We want to assure you that SVB Securities is financially stable and will continue to operate as usual.”

The owners, North Airfield Ventures and Runway Realty Ventures, want to erect 27 hangars and renovate the adjacent Navy hangar.

Late last month, the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs issued a wide-ranging list of requirements that the developer must meet to successfully complete an environmental impact statement before work can begin.

The developers aren’t expected to complete the draft form until autumn.

The link to Tuesday’s agenda and Zoom connection is www.lincolntown.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03212023-4959.