November 1, 2007
Ed Offley
WEST BAY
Celebrating a major milestone in economic development and land conservation, officials with the Panama City-Bay County Airport on Thursday morning broke ground on the long-awaited relocation project.
Ed Offley
WEST BAY
Celebrating a major milestone in economic development and land conservation, officials with the Panama City-Bay County Airport on Thursday morning broke ground on the long-awaited relocation project.
Cheered by a crowd of about 1,000 political leaders, business executives and county residents gathered, Airport Authority board members led by Chairman Joe Tannehill joined Florida Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos in launching construction of the $330 million effort. Kopelousos appeared on behalf of Gov. Charlie Crist, who had to forgo the ceremony for an emergency summit meeting of governors in Washington, D.C., to discuss the ongoing drought.
"I don't think any day could be any bigger, brighter and better for the future of Bay County,'' beamed Panama City Beach developer Mike Bennett as he watched the ceremony under a cloudless sky.
Relocation proponents did more than applaud the end of a decade-long planning and design process that will culminate in the opening of the new Panama City-Bay County International Airport in early 2010. They also lauded the activation of the West Bay Sector Plan, a mammoth land-use agreement approved by the Bay County Commission in 2003 that will guide the economic development of 34,000 acres and the preservation of another 41,000 acres of St. Joe Co. land spanning the State 79, State 77 and County 388 corridor.
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