FlyUSA and Paradise Ventures submitted a proposal to the city of Clearwater, on Thursday, for the city’s RFQ 38-22, a fixed-based operator management and real estate development project for Clearwater Airpark.
“Our combined vision is to build a state-of-the-art terminal/FBO which will be the catalyst in bringing higher value activities and tenants to the airpark and, at the same time, preparing it for the future of aviation. Bringing the right, higher value tenants to the Airpark will also result in more efficient, and less intensive, activity for the surrounding neighborhood,” said Barry Shevlin, chief executive officer of FlyUSA and Mike Connor, CEO of Paradise Ventures, in a joint proposal submitted to the city.
The proposal, submitted Thursday, includes plans to build a new, state-of-the-art FBO and terminal facility and new hangars to attract higher value tenants. In addition, the concept includes plans to relocate FlyUSA’s corporate offices to the airpark.
It also plans to build approximately 40,000 square feet of additional corporate hangar space to accommodate tenants operating Turboprop and/or Very Light Jets.
FlyUSA is a full-service private aviation firm that specializes in on-demand air charter, with a focus on the State of Florida and the Southeast United States. Paradise Ventures is a commercial real estate development company that just recently acquired the Sundial property in downtown St. Petersburg. Both companies are based in Pinellas County. This would be the second public-private partnership between the City of Clearwater and Paradise Ventures, the first of which was the North Clearwater Beach parking garage.
It will never fly. Pardon the pun, but in order to achieve the goals so propose
Including “on demand charter” would require a 24 / 7 operation. That is something the city has absolutely been against even talking about. Should the elected officials change their collective minds, the 24 hour operation will be the end of Historic Clearwater Air Park. The surrounding residents will be downtown with pitchforks seeing as we, the former overseerrs of the airport promised it would not happen. Of course in politics, promises meat little.
Dennis Roper
Eight Term Airport Advisory Board Member