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From The Gainesville Sun:

County, Airport Authority may work together on business park plan
By Christopher Curry | Staff writer

County government and the Gainesville-Alachua County Regional Airport Authority might join efforts to bring a business park to east Gainesville.

The plans would involve a joint master plan for 76 acres of the current county fairgrounds property and approximately 40 acres fronting Waldo Road on the adjoining airport property that is known as the “Horseshow” tract.

Both properties have business/industrial zoning designations in place. The Airport Authority also has federal and state grant funding to go toward construction of a new entrance road off Waldo Road that could provide access to both the airport and a future business park.

The Airport Authority has mulled development options for its property for some time. County government for years has had designs on the redevelopment of the existing fairgrounds as a business park and the development of a new fairgrounds on property farther north along Waldo Road near the Leveda Brown Environmental Park & Transfer Station.

A few months back, the county sought to gauge interest from the private sector in a partnership on the redevelopment of the current fairgrounds and development of a new fairgrounds site. There was little interest, and nothing viable emerged.

County and airport staff then started talks on the potential joint venture. “The thought was that marketing and planning both properties together would generate more interest … maybe we’d be stronger together than apart,” Gainesville Regional Airport CEO Allan Penksa said.

Read more at http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110820/articles/110829991