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Airco Golf Course's future hinges on feasibility study

Will it remain a golf course, become an office park or be transformed into something else? A decision next week could be a determining factor.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published November 30, 2005

The fate of Airco Golf Course has been the subject of speculation for years.

Now, Pinellas County is considering a feasibility study to figure out what to do with the 129-acre parcel adjacent to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.

Next week, County Commissioners will decide whether to fund the study with a $298,230 grant from the U.S Department of Housing and Development. The county expects to pay about $200,000 to $250,000 for the study and use the remaining funds to help implement its recommendations.

Stacey Swank, county economic development manager, said the feasibility study is necessary because the county is running out of industrial space and officials need to make sure they're making the best choice for the community.

Officials say Airco Golf Course could remain a golf course, become an office park with aviation-related businesses or be transformed into something else entirely.

Feather Sound resident Deborah Van Brunt said she doubts the county will keep the golf course the way it is.

"It would be shocking if the county would decide to keep any green space around the area," Van Brunt said.

Bill Buttner, who gives golf lessons at the course, said he hopes the 18-hole, par 72 course isn't redeveloped.

"There's a need for that type of facility if it's done right," said Buttner, a golf coach at Eckerd College.

Buttner said a runway extension project at the airport has already limited his lessons at the course. The construction project permanently closed the driving range a couple of weeks ago.

The Airco property is owned by the county and managed by the airport. Since 2002, county officials have talked about closing Airco Golf Course to make room for a mix of aviation and nonaviation development. The concept was part of a 20-year master plan, which was approved by the commission a year ago despite hundreds of protests from residents of Feather Sound, Safety Harbor and other areas.

Earlier this year, residents also balked when they found out that St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport planned to build about 75 additional hangars on the airport property. The hangars were meant for the facility's northeast side, but residents thought the airport was proposing hangars on Airco, near many of their homes.

Officials said that wasn't the case then. But the possibility of aviation-related development near residences looms again.

Airport director Noah Lagos said the Airco course may be suited for redevelopment as a manufacturing plant with a runway or taxiway, or other kinds of facilities related to the aviation business.

"The expectation is that it has the potential to be able to generate a much larger revenue stream than what the golf course produces," Lagos said.

Lagos added that commercial buildings could provide more of a noise buffer than open space.

Airco is currently supported by user fees and additional funds for expenses are provided by the airport. Last year, the course made about $150,000, Lagos said. But in the three-year period before that, the golf course lost a total of $450,000, which the airport covered, Lagos said.

If the commission accepts the Economic Development Initiative Grant on Tuesday, the study should begin late next year or early 2007, Lagos said.

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 02:15:38]