3/26/08

Will green airport be painted that color?














Northwest Florida is getting a new airport in 2010. Panama City-Bay County International airport will move into a facility with a runway large enough for international commercial service on 4,000 acres donated by Florida’s largest private landowner, The St Joe Company. Airport price tag roughly $330 million.

Airport executive director Randy Curtis (right) and St. Joe senior VP strategic alliances and communications Jerry Ray touted the forthcoming airport’s sustainability during a visit to Flight International. It will be the first airport certified according to the US Green Building Council's standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Ray says.

Curtis says the airport decided to pursue LEED silver certification because of the adversarial relationship it had with environmentalists.
“It evolved. How can we work together?” he says.

Construction materials will be sourced from locations within 500 miles of the airport and building material will be sustainable. Stormwater treatment will be 50% higher than required.

The airport will also pursue the use of technologies that enable it to be carbon neutral, Ray adds.

But before the location of the airport was determined, 41,000 acres were set aside for preservation, the West Bay Preservation Area, Ray says.

This makes West Bay the largest undeveloped bay in Florida. Thirty-three miles of West Bay shoreline and 44 square miles of the West Bay watershed will be protected.

Architectural renderings and site plan (below) courtesy of the airport.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

"Curtis says the airport decided to pursue LEED silver certification because of the adversarial relationship it had with environmentalists.
“It evolved. How can we work together?” he says"

Looks like being an adversarial lib. Can have positive effects eh? Gotta luv it.. thx megan .. excellent title for the article btw =P