The top three execs at Google have offered to pay NASA the $33 million needed to restore Hangar One, the iconic California landmark built in the 1930s to house the U.S.S. Macon.
The offer comes with a caveat, however. The search engine bigwigs, who own eight private jets between the three of them through a company called H211, want to use up to two-thirds of the floor space to house their own aircraft. Under the agreement, NASA could lease out the remaining floor space and upper level areas.
Hangar One is one of the largest freestanding structures in the world, spanning a height of almost 200 feet and a floor equivalent to eight acres without the help of any internal support. The future of the landmark has been up in the air for years, thrust into further uncertainty by the danger of toxic materials in the soil beneath the hangar.
The Navy is currently in the process of removing the contaminated skin from the hangar, a process slated for completion by the summer of next year. Budget cuts enacted earlier this year, however, removed $32 million NASA planned to use to replace the covering, expediting the need for a solution.
Under the proposal made by Google’s top three men, NASA would still retain ownership of Hangar One. NASA is reportedly considering the offer, but has not yet announced a decision on the matter.
