Associated Painters, a commercial- and military-aircraft painting company based here, has shelved plans to erect a proposed $8 million second hangar facility at Spokane International Airport.

At its May 29 meeting, the Spokane Airport Board canceled a land lease agreement it had entered into last fall with Associated Painters' affiliate RND LLC of Spokane, for a hangar that was to be located just east of the hangar that Associated Painters currently occupies there.

The airport board's agenda said that RND LLC concurred with the cancellation of the land lease agreement effective April 1, due to RND's inability to meet an agreed construction schedule. Rod Friese, president of Associated Painters, couldn't be reached immediately for comment about the reasons for the cancellation and whether the company might seek to develop a second hangar there at a later date.

An analysis included in the airport board agenda said that even without constructing a new facility, Associated Painters had told the airport it could continue to meet the demand for aircraft painting at its current facility.

The land lease cancellation follows a recent change in Associated Painters' ownership. Leading Edge Aviation Services Inc., of Costa Mesa, Calif., announced in April that it had acquired the company.

Associated Painters formed RND LLC last fall to build a 55,200-square-foot facility that would be in addition to its existing 41,400-square-foot hangar. At that time, the company listed Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, as the contractor for the second hangar project, and Bernardo Wills Architects PC, of Spokane, as the architect.

Kathryn Brewer, Leading Edge's chief operating officer, declined in April to comment on whether a proposed hangar expansion at the Associated Painters' SIA facility would occur as planned. She did say then that Associated Painters will remain in Spokane and continue to operate under its current name and leadership.

Associated Painters began operating here in 2010, and this past fall, it completed moving its headquarters to Spokane from Everett, Wash., where it was based for 22 years. In October, Friese said the new facility would enable Associated Painters to expand its business by increasing the number of planes that could be painted annually.

The company had planned to finance the second hangar project, at an estimated cost of $8 million, Friese said previously. Associated Painters employed 52 people as of last October.

Both Leading Edge and Associated Painters are Boeing Co.-approved paint companies that serve as primary providers for major airlines, painting everything from 737s to 787s.