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Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport

The St. Joe Co. (NYSE:JOE) today is at least a million dollars richer today with the opening of  the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport at West Bay, FL on Florida's Gulf Coast.

According to a prepared statement from Jacksonville, FL-based St. Joe, the airport is the first international commercial service airport built in the United States in the last 15 years.

St. Joe donated 4,000 acres within its 75,000-acre West Bay Sector Plan for the airport's construction.

West Bay is located in north central Bay County in the Florida Panhandle, across St. Andrews Bay from Panama City. It is about 300 miles (500 kilometers) southwest of Atlanta and 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Tallahassee.

The airport adjoins St. Joe's billion-dollar  VentureCrossings Enterprise Centre which includes plans for future office, retail, hotel and industrial developments.

The proximity of the airport to VentureCrossings adds immediate value to the project, say St. Joe officials.

"The opening of the new airport is the culmination of over a decade of efforts by St. Joe and numerous regional organizations to transform Northwest Florida by greatly improving domestic and international access," said St. Joe's President and CEO Britt Greene.

West Bay, FL Map

"It will serve as a significant economic catalyst for Northwest Florida and enhance the value of our 300,000 acres within 40 miles of the airport."

Southwest commenced service at the new airport with two daily non-stop flights to Houston, Nashville, Orlando and Baltimore-Washington DC.

In addition to the eight daily non-stop flights, Southwest Airlines offers direct or connecting service to more than 60 other destinations in the U.S. Delta Air Lines, which has served the existing airport for many years, expanded its service to the region with larger aircraft.

VentureCrossings includes approximately 100 acres designated for retail, office and hotel uses, approximately 300 acres for light industrial uses, and approximately 600 acres for manufacturing, distribution and logistics companies seeking "through the fence" access to the new airport's 10,000 foot runway.

"The West Bay Sector, now with a new international airport, is an unparalleled greenfield site and a unique multi-modal opportunity for expanding businesses interested in air, land and sea access," said Kevin Johnson, St. Joe's Vice President of Economic Development.

"VentureCrossings is an ideal mixed-use commercial center that will include aerospace, defense, renewable energy and logistics services."

Within VentureCrossings, St. Joe is developing an approximately 60,000 square foot Class A multi-tenant office building with construction beginning later this summer.

The company will relocate its corporate headquarters, currently in Jacksonville, Florida, to this multi-tenant building by the summer of 2011.

Also within VentureCrossings, St. Joe is developing an approximately 30,000 square foot light industrial building with construction also beginning later this year.

 

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