“This would be a strategic acquisition that would allow us to, one, protect that property from anything that would negatively impact the airport going forward, but also has the county in the driver’s seat for what that ultimate disposition may be,” County Administrator Brandon Huddleson said.
There are no concrete plans for the property, Huddleson said, but the 60 acres has a “plethora” of potential uses, including residential development, warehousing and logistics, hangar space or other commercial or industrial development related to the airport.
Additionally, if the airport were ever to extend its runway or taxiway, this would be the only direction it would be possible to do so, Huddleson said.
“We cannot get one inch closer to the buildings than we already are,” he said. “So this gives room for growth.”
Commissioner Tom Koogler said that he initially had “some reluctance” to go forward with the deal, citing the use of taxpayers’ money “without having a vision or a plan.”
However, the airport board is about to renew its 10-year development plan, the most recent of which was finished in 2014.
The Greene County Airport Board has considered several uses of the land, but will likely refrain from development for the next five years, avoiding “prematurely building something that doesn’t really work within the community,” Koogler said.
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