Officials detail plans for major land swap between New College and SRQ airport

A major land swap is in the works to avert a financial nightmare for New College of Florida that awaits at the end of a 100-year land lease agreement with the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

A new deal could be finalized within the next 90 days.

If the lease is allowed to expire in 2056, the airport-owned land and all of the New College buildings on it revert to airport ownership.

That would cause a massive financial headache for New College, which would be left with two choices: Ask the state for millions of dollars in funding per year for a major rent increase or buy the land and their own buildings back at market value from the airport.

"They pay a very low rent. New College pays a little over $108,000 per year in rent for roughly 32 acres," SRQ airport CEO Fred Piccolo said. "Fast forward to 2056 ... They'll have to buy buildings back from us that they built. So let's say, for the sake of argument, that is for a quarter of a billion dollars by that time. Well, they are going to have to walk in front of the state Legislature and say, 'By the way, our rent went from $100,000 to $20 million, or we need to buy all of this land, and we need a quarter of a billion dollars.' That ain't gonna happen."

Ignored for decades, a glimmer of hope

Previous New College presidents had an opportunity to address the situation, but Piccolo said New College President Richard Corcoran has been the first to take his warnings seriously.

Piccolo told the Herald-Tribune that although Corcoran has been criticized during the school's transformation orchestrated by Gov. Ron DeSantis, he may be the catalyst to get a multi-million dollar deal inked with the Florida Legislature to purchase the land.

"I couldn't get anyone to listen to me" previously, he said.

Piccolo and Corcoran are negotiating terms for a land swap that would allow the airport to build six new terminals on the western part of its property, and give New College a more affordable way to buy its leased land.

The deal would need to be approved by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority and New College boards, which each feature politically connected juggernauts appointed by the Florida governor's office.

The land swap would give the airport land near the end of the runway to secure a clear path for airplanes. According to airport emails provided to the Herald-Tribune, there was concern voiced in 2013 after a small plane crashed at the New College campus and nearly hit the Heiser Natural Science and CHAE Auditorium building. In 2016, the airport also expressed concern over plans for expansion by the college in the path of the runway.

Once New College and the airport reach an agreement, New College would need to petition for funding from the Legislature to purchase the remaining acreage of airport property not included in the land swap. The college also needs to seek financing for any building redevelopment.

Corcoran told the Herald-Tribune that negotiations have been ongoing for about six months and believes an agreement is necessary before approaching the state for millions of dollars in investment.

He hopes an agreement is in place by the end of the year, which is also about the time the college expects to complete an ongoing master plan update that outlines the future direction of New College. When the land swap and land sales are complete, New College will go from leasing 32 acres from the airport to owning an estimated 25 acres — although the numbers have not been finalized.

Early plans call for renovations to dorms and some existing facilities and construction of new athletics fields.

"The Pei dorms are in disrepair and arguably not even capable of being rehabilitated," Corcoran said. "There's other dorms over there, and they're in need of repair."

Corcoran said he wants the land swap agreement with the airport in place before approaching the state for the funding to realize New College's vision.

"How does that make sense to ask the Legislature for all this money to invest in buildings that we're going to turn over to the airport in 30 years?" he said. "That doesn't make any sense. So why wouldn't someone have worked out a deal?"

"As soon as we got here, and those realities became very obvious to all of us, the trustees, myself, it's like, 'Let's venture into conversations,'" he said. "I think we're really within 90 days of having a signed agreement."

Manatee donates land to New College

Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to donate about 9 acres of land of the county-owned Powel Crosley Estate to New College.

The land had already been donated to the University of South Florida in 2020, but commissioners opted to instead give it to New College after negotiations with USF stalled this summer. An agreement will be presented and approved by the Manatee County Commission at a future meeting to finalize the donation.

The deal is separate from the land swap with the airport, but Corcoran said the donation is another opportunity for the college to grow. He said the use of the Manatee County land would be determined throughout the master planning process.

"This is a great victory for New College, this is a great victory for the community, and we'll absolutely do something wonderful with it," Corcoran said. "What that is, we'd have to go through the master plan process, get input from the community, input from our stakeholders, approval by the trustees ... There just numerous things that could be a wonderful use of that property."

USF officials told the Herald-Tribune this week the university found out about Manatee County's change of heart from the agenda for Tuesday's meeting.

Corcoran said he still hopes the two schools can partner together.

"USF has been a great partner," Corcoran said. "They're a fantastic university."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: New College and SRQ airport are negotiating a major land swap deal