The Federal Aviation Administration has issued its Record of Decision approving the relocation of the Panama City-Bay County International
Airport (pictured). "Relocation" in this case will actually mean the development a brand-new airport for the Florida panhandle city, a long-awaited project that
promises significant real estate growth in its wake.
"The Record of Decision is a very important step in the development of the new airport, but not quite the
last step," Randy Curtis, the airportıs executive director, told CPN this afternoon. "We still need a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers and a couple of
state permits, but we expect those soon. Another major part of the process will be the sale of the existing airport. Bids on that are due by next Monday."
With the FAA's approval, the Panama City-Bay County Airport Authority is eligible for federal Airport Improvement Program funds to assist with the project.
The St. Joe Co., a major landowner in Florida and the largest private landowner in Bay County, donated about 4,000 acres for the airport itself, and another
9,800 acres as a conservation easement. The site of the new airport will be near the shore of St. Andrews Bay, but unlike the current airport, its runways will
be on ground high enough to protect it from hurricane storm surges.
Since much of the rest of the land near the new airport will be ripe for commercial
and residential development by landowner St. Joe Co. the donation represents an astute investment in the company's growth as a real estate developer. According
to the company, it currently has entitlements for more than 1,000 acres of commercial development and 6,000 residential units near the new airport.
If all goes according to schedule, the airport will be completed by late 2008. Like the current airport, it will have two runways--with expansion room for a
third--but they will be considerably longer than the existing ones, allowing larger commercial jets to land than is currently possible at existing airport.
The new airport will also feature terminals and other facilities totaling 100,000 square feet. Funding for the $312 million airport project will be roughly
divided in thirds between the federal and state governments, and local sources.
These West Bay area developers and community leaders work hard to strike a balance between economic growth and responsible development.
Randy Curtis is executive director of the Panama City - Bay County International Airport, which is owned and operated by the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District (the Airport Authority). The Airport Authority is governed by a board that is composed of five members. The Panama City Commission appoints two, the Bay County Commission appoints two, and the four sitting board members elect the fifth.
Peter S. Rummell became chairman and chief executive officer of The St. Joe Co.'s vast land holdings in 1997 and shifted its emphasis from paper products to real-estate development. Rummell began his real-estate career in 1971 with the Sea Pines Company, developers of Hilton Head Island, S.C., and Amelia Island, Fla. In 1985, he became president of the Disney Development Company and was responsible for the Walt Disney Company's non-theme-park land.
Ted Clem is executive director of the Bay County Economic Development Alliance, a public-private partnership whose stated purpose is to establish Bay County as a globally competitive environment to conduct business, encourage economic growth that enhances the area's standard of living and quality of life, and facilitate the creation of an environment that encourages the expansion of existing business and the location of new business.
Ed Wright
is chairman of Partners in Progress, a community-based organization founded in late 2003 with the mission to promote the relocation of the Panama City-Bay County International Airport. Wright retired last year from Florida State University in Panama City, where he had served as president.
Dan Pennington is a community planner with 1000 Friends of Florida, an organization established in the 1980s to serve as a watchdog to track the implementation of growth-management laws. As growth management and enviromental programs of the state have evolved, 1000 Friends continues to monitor implementation of laws on a statewide level.
