New Airport, Business Park on Drawing Boards

CLERMONT, FL-A new local airport with a first-phase, 3,500-foot runway and an adjoining industrial park are on the drawing boards for south Lake County, 25 miles west of Downtown Orlando, but the projects may remain there unless local government planners can find a 300-acre site that rural residents won’t fight.

Planners will submit site proposals to the Federal Aviation Authority by year end. The FAA makes the final site selection because it is paying for 90% of the project’s construction costs. The Florida Department of Transportation pays 5%. Local governments pay the remaining 5%.

A second two-year study kicks in after the FAA selects the site. The dirt alone could wind up costing the West Orange Airport Authority about $13 million ($1 per sf), local industrial appraisers familiar with the South Lake County market tell GlobeSt.com. The industrial park’s size and cost is still being determined.