STARKVILLE – The Golden Triangle Regional Airport is proposing to buy a strip of land beside its runway, requiring a loan of roughly $1 million that would be paid off by area municipalities.
The land in question is about 109 acres, roughly between the southern end of the airport runway and Airport Road. The airport owns a third parcel to the north and has secured a $1 million FAA grant to purchase one of the two additional parcels. But it needs a loan paid for by its stakeholders to acquire the second.
“This land has been available for quite some time, but we feel like now is the time the purchase needs to be made,” Betsy Young, the Golden Triangle Development LINK vice president of economic development, said Friday during a Starkville Board of Aldermen work session. “…We’re asking for the communities that own the airport … to help to secure a loan through the airport and purchase that land.”
The property GTRA is trying to buy is owned by Ropp Family Enterprises, which has a Palmer, Arkansas mailing address, according to tax records.
That urgency comes after a different buyer’s bid for the property fell through, Young said. That bid brought “talk of placing warehouses or migrant housing on the land.” The airport feels it has to act now or risk losing that land to another developer, she said.
Further increasing the pressure is the combination of a land shortage and growing needs at the airport. Available plots near GTRA are in short supply, in particular to the west, because Aluminum Dynamics takes up 2,200 acres. Young said Boeing, Airbus and Stark Aerospace are all in the middle of expansion projects. If the airport buys the land it would lease the space out to the companies, possibly generating revenue to help offset the loan.
“We’re seeing more expansions and more talk of expansion than I’ve (ever) seen in the last 10 years I’ve been on the board,” said Frank Chiles, Starkville’s representative on the GTRA board.
The airport initially hoped to secure a loan with a 1% interest rate through the Mississippi Development Authority, but MDA said its funding isn’t meant for land purchases. Now the board is examining estimates for a conventional 6% interest loan. It’s possible the real loan could be slightly cheaper at 5% interest, Young said.
Repayment of the $1,089,250 would run for 10 years, with financial responsibility distributed among the surrounding cities and counties proportional to their stake in the airport.
Lowndes County and Columbus, with 25% stakes, would each pay $37,500 annually. Oktibbeha County and Starkville, with 20% stakes, would each pay $30,000 annually. Clay County and West Point, with 5% stakes, would each pay $7,500 annually.
“Currently we have a land price of a little over $18,000 per acre,” Young said. “Based on what all the land around the airport has gone for the last couple years, it’s gone for between $20,000 and $25,000 an acre, so we feel like this is a good price we’ve gotten.”
Starkville aldermen seemed amenable to the idea, with nobody at the work session objecting and a strong speech in support by Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, who represents Ward 6.
“The public wants to know why the city of Starkville is giving its financial involvement in (this) matters,” he said. “But we are interested for this reason: This investment … will enhance economic development and bring economic prosperity to this area. The more flights we get in, the greater the business opportunity. We have the largest university in the state. People come to our university, come to our city and spend money, buy homes. We don’t lose with that. This is just an investment for the future.”
Young said the Clay County Board of Supervisors approved the deal this week, with Columbus and Starkville’s respective boards slated to take it up Tuesday. Lowndes County, Oktibbeha County and West Point would take it up the week of April 7.
A fourth plot of land to the north, next to the one the airport already owns, wanted $40,000 per acre and isn’t part of today’s expansion, but Airport Director Matt Dowell said he still aims to strike a deal in the future and complete the airport’s ownership of the area.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
