A new terminal is nearing completion at Southwest Florida
International Airport that will cater to the select few travelers
who enjoy the luxury of not having to stand in long lines and can
come and go on their own schedules.
BUILDING
FOR THE FUTURE:
Jerry Morris of Bethlehem Construction welds metal plates in
the customer service area of PrivateSky Aviation’s new
building at Southwest Florida International Airport. CLINT
KRAUSE/The News-Press
Click on image to enlarge.
They’re the lucky folk who own their own planes or fly on
corporate aircraft.
The 62,000-square-foot PrivateSky building that sits on 30 acres
along the entrance road to the airport will include a maintenance
center with room to service 12 jets at a time.
A passenger terminal with swanky hotel-style lobby will have
quarters for corporate pilots to snooze while their bosses take care
of business.
Pilots will be able to taxi planes up to an oversized awning that
will shelter disembarking passengers from the weather.
The building represents a massive expansion for PrivateSky, which
has been operating on a smaller scale on the site since acquiring
JetSouth/Aviatat, the sole fixed base operator at the airport,
nearly two years ago.
Sanibel resident Vincent Wolanin, the CEO of PrivateSky, expects
the new facility, which will specialize in Gulfstream jets, to
attract private aircraft from all over the world for servicing as
well as provide a comfortable base for corporate aircraft owners
flying in and out of Southwest Florida on business and pleasure. He
says it will be the largest independent Gulfstream facility in the
world.
For Southwest Florida International Airport, it will be a great
addition, according to Bob Ball, airport director.
“He is bringing tremendous business to Southwest Florida,” Ball
said.
“I anticipate he will be so successful that once his project is
complete he is going to have to immediately expand it.”
COMING
SOON:
This is an artist’s rendering of PrivateSky Aviation’s
62,000-square-foot jet maintenance center and terminal at
Southwest Florida International Airport. It is scheduled for
completion in November. Special to The News-Press
Click on image to enlarge.
Ball envisions Wolanin adding another 40,000 square feet of
hangar space to accommodate more aircraft repair and service work.
Private owners of jet aircraft will fly half-way round the world
if necessary to have their planes serviced, Wolanin, 54, says.
He chose the location because the long-haul private jets need the
long runway at Southwest Florida International.
The building, which this week will be painted several shades of
yellow, is scheduled for completion in early November and expected
to be at full speed by December.
Wolanin won’t say how much it’s costing, but says no expense will
be spared to make it ritzy enough for the high-end travelers and
aircraft owners who’ll use it.
The interior will have an executive waiting room and concierge
desk.
He continues to hire personnel, including highly qualified
aircraft technicians with expertise in Gulfstream jets.
Southwest Florida is a magnet for the rich and famous, and
Wolanin expects to attract even more business people who commute
between Southwest Florida and Europe as well as to other parts of
the United States. Entertainers arriving for concerts at the TECO
Arena and Philharmonic Center for the Arts are also among his
potential clients.
One of Wolanin’s other companies supplies jet aircraft to touring
celebrities and VIPs.
The center will also be equipped to install “hush kits” for the
the type of noisy, older jets which Naples Airport has outlawed.
He said he’s planning two more buildings as business growth
dictates.
