OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Ocala Airport will be getting a new neighbor.
The city council approved a contract between the city and InSite Real Estate Investment Properties, LLC for the purchase and sale of 115-acres of non-aviation property at the Ocala International Airport at its meeting on Tuesday, May 21.
The price tag: $12,075,000.
“InSite offered $100,000 an acre. Because of the FAA requirement, they needed to pull an appraisal. The appraisal came in a little higher,” said Matthew Grow, Ocala International Airport director. “They adjusted their price to meet the appraisal and meet the FAA requirement. We’re happy with the number and decided to move forward.”
There’s a due diligence period in the contract which gives the purchaser a year to close, with a one-year extension.
The 115 acres are located by Southwest 67th Avenue and 31st Street. It’s actually isolated from the airfield and would be impossible to get airplanes to that parcel without major infrastructure reinvestment.
“That’s how it’s designated as a non-aviation piece of land,” said Grow. “It’s still encumbered by the airport and still encumbered by FAA rules and regulations. So, we have to work with them on selling it, and making sure that it sells at fair market value, which we determine through an appraisal.”
InSite has clients who’re very interested in the Ocala market, and have shown great interest in the site, said Kevin Sheilley, Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership president and CEO.
“We’re hopeful, and would love by this time next year, to see some things under construction out there,” said Sheilley.
The prospective industry will have to be compatible with the airport, and the activity that goes on, meaning it will be a non-noise sensitive entity.
“It’s positive for the airport,” said Grow. “The money stays at the airport. We’ll use the money for some of our projects in the future. We have $30 million worth of work over the next 15 or 20 years. That would certainly help to fund it.”
The airport will leverage that money to apply for federal and state grants to invest back into the development of the airport.
Ocala and Marion County has had a tremendous amount of growth in the industrial sector over the last decade, and interest in the area is growing exponentially.
“The industrial park at the airport was designed 15 years ago by the city and has been a little bit of a harder sell, in part because it was further away from the interstate. There were other sites that were closer. But the reality is that we filled those all up,” said Sheilley. ‘The airport advisory board has never been opposed to the development, but they really wanted it leased.”
The developers are spending more than $12 million to purchase the property but will spend a far greater amount to build on the parcel.
“A company is not going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a piece of property that they don’t own,” said Sheilley. “You may do that for an airport hangar. But you’re not going to do that for a big industrial building.”
Sheilley says the project will have a positive ripple effect – creating jobs and diversifying the economy.
“That’s going to drive more tax revenue for the city. Those will all be city utilities at that site. It’s going to drive additional revenue from electric, water, sewer and fiber and all of those things,” said Sheilley. “It benefits the rest of the citizens. The more revenue that’s driven that way, the lower the burden on residents.”
There are still 335 acres of non-aviation parcels available for purchase or lease on the airport property.
“We’ve contracted with brokers before. We’ve marketed it,” said Grow. “We’ve done huge marketing campaigns for all of the property, some of the property and it’s well known that the airport has property to sell or lease.”