Airport Authority Enters Contract to Sell Existing Airport Site
The Airport Authority approved the sale of the existing airport to a subsidiary of Leucadia National Corporation for $56.5 million in cash and significant revenues from transfer fees from the sale of future properties developed on site.
Future transfer fees have been previously valued at approximately $38 million, bringing the total value of the sale to approximately $94.5 million.
In a press release issued earlier today, the Airport Authority said:
The Panama City – Bay County Airport and Industrial District (Airport Authority) today announced it has approved a contract to sell the current airport site to a subsidiary of Leucadia National Corporation of New York (NYSE: LUK) for $56.5 million in cash and significant revenues from transfer fees from the sale of future properties developed on site.
The airport is being relocated to a site in northwestern Bay County to be donated to the Airport Authority by The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE).
The current airport site is approximately 700 acres adjacent to North Bay in Panama City.
“This is the final piece of the puzzle; our financial plan for the new airport is in place,” said Bill Cramer, Airport Authority vice chairman and lead negotiator for the property sale.
“We can now move forward aggressively to meet our goals to create a new airport with improved air service, provide an opportunity for economic development and create an environmental jewel for the entire region.”
The purchaser of the airport site is Community Airport Redevelopment, LLC (CAR), which is 90% owned by Leucadia National Corporation. Leucadia developed Rosemary Beach and Draper Lake in Florida, among numerous other properties.
The remaining 10% of CAR is owned by WMR Capital Corporation, a Delaware corporation which has developed more than 30 residential, commercial and office real estate projects including Willow Creek Plantation in Okaloosa County, Florida, and Noventa Ocho in Walton County, Florida.
Upon execution of the contract, CAR will place $56.5 million into an escrow account. Transfer fees will provide the Airport Authority with 0.05% of the sales price on most properties on the current site sold by CAR over the next 90 years.
These fees were previously estimated to total some $38 million over the first 30 years of the agreement with additional fees collected during the final 60 years.
“This is the right deal for the citizens of Bay County,” said Cramer. “It provides significant cash now and provides the opportunity for the Airport Authority to share substantially in the success of new development on the current airport site."
"The escrow account will provide security for the Airport Authority to obtain the short-term financing needed to move the new airport construction forward immediately.”
