Potential AP Airport Terminal Plans Narrowing Down

AVON PARK - Officials with the Avon Park Executive Airport are in the early stages of planning a new terminal building.

They recently found a contractor, Orangewood Builders, to build the building. Currently, the city also has grants lined up for the construction.

John Barben, the chairman of the Airport Community Redevelop-ment Agency advisory board, said that the design itself is still being worked upon and a lot of the details haven't been determined yet.

"We're looking at a couple of different construction options now," he said Wednesday. "'How much square feet you need,' 'what's that going to cost...' everything's very preliminary."

Because the planning was in its early stages, Barben added there was no timeline set for the construction, and hoped January's Airport CRA meeting might produce a more definitive plan.

Richard McKenzie, an Airport CRA member and also the owner of the Avon Park Jet Center, said that the cost of the building materials went down since the planning began two years ago, so he's hoping the building could be planned and built by the summer.

The proposed terminal, he said, would include additional office space and room for other private businesses, such as a car rental company.

"We like to make sure that the airport is self-sufficient, (to make it an) income-producing piece of property. That's our goal," McKenzie said.

Officials with the Airport CRA and the Avon Park Jet Center discussed ideas last week on possible designs. Earlier this year, Barben said of the terminal that, "We're building to our need, not to 'this is something we want to be in 10 years.'"

McKenzie agreed with that idea Wednesday. "We don't want to waste any space in this."

The Avon Park Airport CRA will discuss the proposed terminal's design at its next meeting, which is at noon Jan. 10.