• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

High-Tech Air Park Set to Land Near Bob Sikes Airport: Businessman: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Are Key to Economic Future

Posted on: Wednesday, 3 May 2006, 15:00 CDT

By Kari C. Barlow, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach

May 3--CRESTVIEW -- Local businessman Paul Hsu has announced plans for a high-tech air park within the existing Okaloosa Industrial Park near Bob Sikes Airport.

The $16 million project, which Hsu is calling the Advanced Technology Air Park, will sit on 18.5 acres of vacant land near the corner of Airport Road and John Givens Road.

"I think this is the perfect location for (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) manufacturing and hangar usage," said Hsu, who owns the parcel. "It's high and dry. I can see the runway."

The first phase of the project -- which could break ground in the next few months -- calls for a 50,000-square-foot aircraft hangar and a 35,000-square-foot manufacturing and office building.

Hsu sees the development as essential to capitalizing on the coming growth resulting from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission troop shuffle.

"Without this type of infrastructure, I'm afraid someone else will enjoy the growth," he said. "If we don't have the guts to do this, these companies will move somewhere else."

Hsu, the chairman of Total Parts Plus, said he is currently negotiating to bring a wellknown Unmanned Aerial Vehicle company to the park.

UAVs are sophisticated drones controlled by operators on the ground or aboard other warplanes.

"UAV is the future," he said. "It can be the size of a regular airplane down to the size that can sit in the palm of your hand."

Hsu said the air park site's biggest draw is its taxiway -- built by the county -- and its proximity to the 8,000-squarefoot runway at Bob Sikes Airport.

"Without the taxiway, the airplane cannot come to my facility," he said. "The taxiway is essential. It's a bridge."

Hsu's proposed air park will be especially attractive to aerospace companies needing specialized infrastructure, said Larry Sassano, executive director of the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County.

"With that runway there and that taxiway, it's a good incentive," he said. "Companies are constantly looking for this kind of infrastructure and it's difficult to find."

Sassano said the air park would also spur business for smaller existing companies that can help supply the larger manufacturer.

Hsu said he is also in discussion with another company that would use the giant hangar for aviation and aircraft modification.

Construction on the hangar could begin in late summer or early fall, he said.

A second phase of the project calls for another 35,000-squarefoot office building and a larger aircraft hangar.

That hangar will be able to accommodate large airplanes such as the DC-9, 727, 737 and 757. Daily News

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Northwest Florida Daily News

More News in this Category