$420K Grant Agreement Approved for Winter Haven Regional Airport Construction Project
by James Coulter
A new 38,000 square-foot facility is closer to being built at the Winter Haven Regional Airport now that the City of Winter Haven has approved a grant agreement.
At their regular meeting on Mon. Feb. 9, Winter Haven city commissioners voted unanimously to approve a Public Transportation Grant Agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
The grant agreement will help with the design and construction of the Airport Commerce Park Phase 1 project at the Winter Haven Regional Airport.
At an estimated cost of $840,000, the project will construct a 38,000 square-foot facility on approximately 4.9 acres of land leased to Blue Line Aviation.
The proposed facility will include two 12,000 square-foot aircraft hangars, classrooms for aviation education, and administrative offices to support school operations.
The grant covers the cost of constructing the entry road to the leasehold, the aircraft parking apron, and a taxi lane to provide access from the leasehold to the airfield. The building itself is being developed by Blue Line Aviation on land leased from the City airport.
These infrastructure improvements, as part of the original lease agreement approved on Sep. 12, 2023, will include “designing, permitting, and constructing the entry road to the leasehold, the aircraft parking apron, and a taxi lane to provide access from the leasehold to the airfield,” wrote Troy Heidel, Airport Director.
The grant agreement will provide up to 50 percent funding totaling $420,000 for the project, with the remaining half to be matched by the City.
“At the beginning of the current year, FDOT determined that the original design-build grant needed to be restructured into separate design-only and construction-only agreements,” Heidel wrote.
“This determination required the closeout of the original grant and the development of this new FDOT grant agreement to fund the construction portion of the Airport Commerce Park Phase 1 infrastructure improvement,” he continued.
Winter Haven Regional Airport is in the middle of a comprehensive 24‑month Master Plan update, designed to guide development and operations for the next 20 years.
The city is actively encouraging residents and airport users to participate in the planning process. Follow updates and submit input at: winterhaven-mp.com.
