\u201cIt benefits the airport because right now, we\u2019re not making any money off of that land,\u201d Routh told the Catalyst. \u201cIt\u2019s a good economic development engine for the area and for the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 130-acre site adjacent to the county-owned airport was formerly home to a golf course. PIE decided to close the facility rather than subsidize it in 2011. Routh said it was \u201calways meant to be a temporary use.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials subsequently conducted several feasibility studies to determine the best path forward for what is now known as the Airco property. Routh said \u201csome rezoning\u201d occurred.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a small hotel parcel, and then the majority was going to be set aside for light industrial and commercial use,\u201d she added. \u201cBut the priority for us has been to develop the aeronautical portion. That\u2019s where we have more demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, only 80 acres are developable due to flooding and stormwater challenges. The airport set 30 aside for private aviation companies.<\/p>\n
Routh explained that PIE needs a taxiway connector that provides aeronautical tenants with access to the Airco site before requesting development proposals. \u201cThat\u2019s been in design for the last couple of years; we have money earmarked<\/a> for that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The 30 acres could house one or multiple tenants. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what will be developed there,\u201d Routh added. \u201cThere\u2019s a variety of things it could be.\u201d<\/p>\n She said PIE is a \u201cself-supporting, no-debt airport,\u201d and \u201cevery bit of revenue is important.\u201d Routh also noted that aviation facilities are in high demand and typically foster high-wage careers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a lot of opportunity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A map highlighting the Airco property. Image: Pinellas County documents.<\/p>\n Winter Park-based Hubbard Construction Company was the county\u2019s \u201clowest responsive and responsible bidder\u201d among five applicants. The $15.4 million contract includes $1 million in contingency funding.<\/p>\n The new taxiway will begin at the end of Runway 36, run northward to the intersection of Runway 4-22 and terminate at Taxiway \u201cG.\u201d Routh compared land adjacent to a runway to vacant beachfront property in the state\u2019s most densely populated county.<\/p>\n \u201cWe work closely with Pinellas County Economic Development, because having the largest undeveloped parcel of land is a big deal,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n A lack of infrastructure, stemming from the property\u2019s former use as a golf course, also limits development. Improvements, including roadways, septic and stormwater piping and elevating the land to current building codes, would cost around $30 million.<\/p>\n MarineMax proposed building a $38 million manufacturing facility<\/a> at the airport\u2019s nine-acre Turtle Club property in 2022. The company exited the deal after realizing infrastructure costs and floodplain issues impacted the project\u2019s viability.<\/p>\n While hurdles remain for other developments, Routh reiterated that aviation operations are ideal for land \u201csitting there right next to a runway,\u201d and the county\u2019s economy. \u201cIt feels great not to be talking about one day \u2013 it\u2019s happening,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The taxiway is just one of multiple significant projects underway at PIE. Routh noted the airport is \u201cfull speed ahead\u201d on a much-anticipated terminal expansion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had an over $200 million project with only $110 million in funding,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, we had to re-scope a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Elite Air, a private aircraft and charter management company, will soon open a Jet Center<\/a> at PIE. The project includes a 5,000-square-foot terminal and 60,000 square feet of hangar space for clients.<\/p>\n Routh said PIE has the funding needed for an approximately $45 million<\/a>, 2,000-space parking garage, its first, to accommodate the airport\u2019s explosive growth<\/a>. A new surface lot will offer 350 additional spaces. \u201cThat should tie us over for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n In June, PIE was on pace to serve 2.74 million passengers this year, which would shatter the previous benchmark of 2.49 million set in 2023. Routh said the airport has \u201cbroken every single monthly record since February,\u201d and continues adding new destinations.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we have some obstacles,\u201d she said of the Airco property. \u201cBut we\u2019re cranking along.\u201d<\/p>\n Elite Air should open its Jet Center at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in early 2026. Image: Elite Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long-awaited plans for a taxiway to connect St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport with the largest piece of developable land…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-54433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Airco-site--1024x577.png\")
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