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Old 11-17-2018, 11:01 PM
 
1,333 posts, read 2,181,209 times
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https://www.gainesville.com/news/201...port-takes-off

Quote:
A group of community and business leaders, including Schultz, have started a task force to explore feasibility for a new commerical airport closer to the Alachua-Marion county line.

The idea to move the Gainesville Regional Airport south isn’t a new idea. It was brought up in the 1990s, studied and then shot down.

Mitch Glaeser, CEO of Gainesville-based Emory Group of Companies, is spearheading the new initiative and directing the task force. Glaeser believes now is a better time than ever to take the potential move seriously.

The task force, which is not sanctioned by any government body but whose members were appointed by local chambers of commerce, is lobbying for support of a new airport. They have commissioned a $65,000 data study from aviation consulting company Alieveon Pacific to identify how many new passengers might be attracted by an airport between Gainesville and Ocala.

A new location for a combined Ocala-Gainesville airport has not been selected by the group, but the general idea is it would be closer to the Alachua and Marion County line to draw more travelers from the southern portion of Marion County, where sprawling retirement communities hold the majority of the county’s population. But the land between Gainesville and Ocala is also known high-value horse farms and ecologically fragile prairies.
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Old 11-18-2018, 04:49 AM
 
529 posts, read 1,166,893 times
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I'm not sure that it is feasible if it is to attract The Villages contingency. Just a few thoughts:

The Villages power players will not allow an airport that they personally don't have a hand in.

There is a new terminal and expansion going on right now at the ambitiously named "Ocala International Airport.

American has added a few NS flights to DFW, their hub, from Gainesville Regional, but not sure how many flights or seats.

The Villages is exploding geographically south and now extends south of the Turnpike, with the inclusion of upgraded arterial routes in, which makes it an easier commute to MCO.

I-75 is severely overloaded and access/arterial roads would need reconfiguring as well.

With that being said, I do see something possibly in the area of Northwest Marion county because:

There IS a lot of potential with the existing communities in the SW 200 corridor, including the humongous expansion of OTOW and it's planned all-ages community south of WestPort.

The new World Equestrian Complex going in now. What a juggernaut that will be, not to mention the improvements to NW 80th AVE and SR 40 to accommodate the traffic. Our Country Commissioners have shown which way their wind blows.

The available land in nearby Levy County. Levy would welcome the tax base supported by an airport and accessibility from the western regions of Alachua would help.

I believe that Coastal Connector will eventually come up along US 19 to the Chipley/Marianna/Tallahassee area. With US 27 being a 4 lane divided highway from 19 to 75, main access to an airport is enabled already.

Also, I do not believe Alachua and Marion County play all that well together. Alachua is a college-driven town that is more progressive in many areas. Marion County is seen as a country-bumpkin, less literate, less enlightened county. The competition and distrust between the two would hamstring any partnership.

Of course, this is just me thinking out loud with Sunday morning coming down.
I could be wrong.

Dax
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Old 11-18-2018, 02:36 PM
 
1,333 posts, read 2,181,209 times
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I think it's a good idea to explore. Between Marion and Alachua the population is over 600,000 right now and this will grow in the future. That's not even adding the surrounding rural counties or Sumter/Lake/The Villages into the mix.

The problem will always be Orlando. Because of the abundance of cheap and direct flights, a large portion of the area will always drive to Orlando for cheaper fares regardless of the local options. It's also going to be a nightmare to buy the land, build the roads in the horse country in North Marion for an airport. Just look at the protests from the Coastal Connector. Add in $500 Million, bickering counties, and the necessary approval of the FAA and we are talking 10 to 15 years at a minimum from this happening and more likely multiple decades.
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Old 11-19-2018, 03:35 AM
 
529 posts, read 1,166,893 times
Reputation: 612
Agreed

Dax
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