Plan sparks new debate about Albert Whitted airport

In the past, supporters have shot down various plans to redevelop the airport's 110 acres of land. But lately, the winds appear to be shifting.

By BRYAN GILMER, Times Staff Writer

CLARIFICATION (3/16/02): The leadership of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership has sought to foster public debate and has taken no formal stance on the future of St. Petersburg's waterfront. A paragraph to that effect was indavertently omitted from this story.

© St. Petersburg Times
published March 14, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- For decades, as the city considered shrinking or shutting down Albert Whitted Municipal Airport, supporters of the waterfront airfield always have managed to persuade the City Council to save it.

But the tenor of debate over Albert Whitted has changed. Airport supporters now have fewer allies in City Hall, and city officials have encouraged debate over the airport's future.

With a revitalized downtown, the airport property has become more attractive to developers. And the pilots' pet argument that closing the airport would prevent public use of prime waterfront has been muted by a new proposal.

Today, at City Hall, the city's economic development staff will tell the council it's time to close the airport and use the 110 prime waterfront acres to develop parkland and a series of townhomes and condominiums that would continue the downtown revival.

"We would return the waterfront to the citizens via a park system," said economic development director Ron Barton, who will propose selling only the interior of the airport.

The strip of land along the water would become 1 1/2 miles of new public park similar to the city's treasured Straub and Vinoy parks.

While airport supporters have warned of condominium towers on the city's bayfront, Barton is proposing nothing taller than a five-story building, similar to the new Madison apartment complex already being built near the airport property.

"Like Harbour Island in Tampa," he said. "It is basically a proposal to create an urban residential neighborhood. Our focus is people."

Some 7,500 people would live in 4,200 townhomes, condominiums and apartments and support new restaurants, shopping and cultural institutions, Barton said.

And it would put expensive property on city tax rolls, allowing the city to lower the high tax rate.

The plan is certain to meet with opposition from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which met in January to talk about the future of the airport. In worried and irritated voices, the mostly middle-aged pilots wondered whether they should establish a kitty to pay some heavyweight lawyers or lobbyists.

Since the meeting, Jack Tunstill, vice chairman of the volunteer airport advisory committee, and other backers have packed city officials' mailboxes with information, urging the council to fund a new terminal and commit to a new master plan for the airport's future, including runway extensions.

They argue that the city's acceptance of Federal Aviation Administration grants locks the city into operating Albert Whitted Airport for at least 20 more years.

Tunstill agrees that the land should economically benefit the city, but he thinks an improved airport can accomplish that.

"We have businesses that exist in this city because of the airport," said Tunstill, himself a free-lance flight instructor who operates out of Whitted.

The airport handles mostly propeller planes and some small jets because the runways are too short for bigger planes. An operator runs small-plane charter flights there, and Tunstill says even recreational fliers have an economic impact on the city.

"A couple of weeks ago, we had a jet come in here, with two couples on it, that stayed at the Vinoy for three days," he said. "They came down here to play golf."

But Barton thinks the development he envisions would offer far greater economic benefits.

While it could not be built for at least 10 more years, he thinks the decision is of such importance that the city should decide now about spending more money on the airport or committing to redevelopment of the land.

Historian Ray Arsenault agrees that the matter rivals in historical importance the decision city leaders made at the beginning of the 20th century to buy downtown waterfront for public parks like Vinoy and Straub.

So far, the debate has drawn little reaction from average city residents. Yet if the City council likes Barton's plan, it ultimately depends on all the city's voters.

-- Times researcher Mary Mellstrom contributed to this story.

Albert Whitted facts

Owner/ operator: City of St. Petersburg

First runway built: 1917

Acres: 110

Aircraft served: Small, propeller-powered airplanes such as Cessnas and Pipers, and occasional small jets

Takeoffs, landings per year: About 90,000

Join the debate

Discuss this story with the reporter and with other Times readers online at forums.sptimes.com under the category "In the news" and the topic, "Albert Whitted Airport -- should it stay or go?"

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright