Florida's 'Forgotten Coast' to get new airport

updated 2:50 p.m. ET March 6, 2008

MEXICO BEACH, Florida - Marilyn Theus peddles costume jewelry, chipped china plates and other "junktiques" on the roadside between Port St. Joe and Mexico Beach. On Tuesdays she's joined by a friend who markets fresh shrimp from the site overlooking the turquoise waters of St. Josephs Bay.

The vendors are part of the local charm of Florida's Forgotten Coast, which stretches along the Gulf of Mexico from Mexico Beach to about 100 miles east to St. Marks. Mom and pop motels, bait shops and undeveloped beaches dot the coast south of the Apalachicola National Forest.

But a new $330 million international airport, pushed by The St. Joe Co. and political leaders over the objection of environmentalists, is scheduled to open in early 2010 on a 4,000-acre  site north of Panama City. It could mean big changes for these quiet oyster and shrimping towns, long bypassed by tourists.

Formed by the duPont family to harvest timber for paper products in the 1930s, The St. Joe Co. is now a developer and owns some 700,000 acres of undeveloped Florida land mostly in the northwestern Panhandle region, making it the state's largest private landowner. St. Joe donated the 4,000 acres to relocate Panama City's existing airport and owns 78,000 acres of undeveloped property surrounding the new airport.

Along The Forgotten Coast, the state — with the help of a land donation from the St. Joe Co. — recently rerouted 4 miles of U.S. 98, the major east-west coastal highway, to improve the traffic flow in the area and make way for development. High-end vacation homes began replacing motels and RV parks a decade ago. In sleepy Port Saint Joe, trendy interior decorating stores have opened near the local Piggly Wiggly.

"We aren't forgotten anymore," said Brad Hart, a commercial painter who has lived in the area for 30 years. The national mortgage crisis has slowed the bulldozers and construction cranes, but building continues.

The airport has withstood legal challenges from environmentalists, a local pilots group and others who have argued it is unnecessary and will destroy environmentally sensitive wetlands. The lawsuits continue but the future of the new airport — the first since Sept. 11, 2001 — appears increasingly certain to both supporters and opponents.

"We did our battle and we were unsuccessful," said Fred Werner, a Panama City pharmacist and amateur pilot whose organization, Friends of PFN — the FAA's designation for the existing Panama City airport — sued to block the new airport.

Deal of the Day Newfoundland and Labrador Explore World Heritage sites, glimpse into the life of the Vikings, more, from $1,635.

Werner objects to the airport as a "corporate welfare scheme," which he says will benefit the company in future decades by ensuring tourists easy access to the region. The project will also force tax dollars be spent extending roads, sewer lines and other infrastructure to St. Joe-owned properties surrounding the airport, he said.

"It's not an aviation deal, it's a land development deal," he said.

Proponents of the airport relocation, including the St. Joe Co., argue the existing airport's runways are restricted by St. Andrews Bay, that it's vulnerable to flooding in tropical storms and hurricanes, and that the area needs a larger, regional airport capable of handling international flights for long-term growth.

Despite the lawsuits, Randy Curtis, the airport's executive director, said it appears the construction schedule is on track for the new airport to open in early 2010.

MORE FROM U.S. & CANADA

U.S. & Canada Section Front

TV tours a big attraction for N.Y. tourists America’s most attractive people America’s favorite cities Which Hawaii is right for you? Twilight-themed restaurant for Washington town Uncle Remus museum still grapples with race Explore Savannah’s squares, parks and homes Winter Olympics 2010 trip guide Top 13 most scary U.S. haunted attractions Park service to take on Clinton’s first home U.S. & Canada Section Front   Add U.S. & Canada headlines to your news reader: