Palm Beach County Opens North County Airport Land to Competing Bids After Jet Greene Proposal

Palm Beach County commissioners said at an Oct. 20 meeting that they are open to considering a proposal from developer Jeff Greene's Jet Greene LLC to buy 131 acres of undeveloped wetlands just north of North County Airport and to lease land on the airport's property. They said they cannot approve formal negotiations until other parties have had an opportunity to submit bids.

North County Airport sits on 1,832 acres off the Bee Line Highway, about 14 miles northwest of President Donald J. Trump International Airport (DJT) and adjacent to parts of Palm Beach Gardens. County documents show Jet Greene LLC wants to buy the vacant wetland parcel for $30 million. The county would use the proceeds to fund a proposed runway expansion and an air traffic control tower at North County Airport.

The county aims to lengthen a runway to 6,000 feet from 4,300 feet and widen it to 100 feet from 75 feet. That would allow larger private aircraft such as Learjet 35 and 45, Citation VI, VII and X, and Hawker 125-800 models to land there, and could potentially ease air traffic at DJT.

Jet Greene LLC would also sign a 50-year lease for a combined 40 acres of airport property, with the intention of installing a new fixed-base operator to oversee daily operations and building new amenities for private jets. Attorney Harvey Oyer III, representing Greene, said the company would build new hangars and a terminal with an executive lounge, private meeting rooms and other amenities, citing a lack of hangar space and tarmac at DJT. He said the company would fund the terminal itself at an estimated cost of $60 million to $80 million.

A motion before the commission sought permission for county aviation officials to proceed with negotiations with Jet Greene LLC and to waive competitive bidding under a Florida law that lets county governments use public funds for economic development. County Attorney David Ottey told commissioners the law could not apply to the sale of the 131-acre parcel without a specific declaration of how the land will be used and how that use would benefit the county. Oyer said no specific use has been determined for the parcel but that development would most likely support airport operations.

Commissioner Maria Marino, whose district includes the airport, said she preferred issuing a request for proposals to other prospective bidders before formal negotiations. During public comments, executives from several aviation companies said they would be interested in bidding. Beebe said the aviation department could issue requests for proposals by February 2027, with selection taking about two to three months. Marino said Jet Greene's offer is a starting point and that the county should exhaust other possibilities.

The commission's stance shows how a single developer's offer to a public airport owner tends to play out. A bundled package of land sale, long-term ground lease and a new FBO operator is attractive because it pairs cash for runway and tower work with private capital for a terminal. It also concentrates a lot of airport-side control in one party, which is why a county attorney's reading of the economic-development statute and a commissioner's call for an RFP carry real weight.

For the Palm Beach private-aviation market, the underlying driver is the hangar and tarmac constraint at DJT that Greene's attorney cited. A reliever airport with a runway long enough for midsize jets is one way capacity can be added, but it only works if a qualified FBO operator, hangar space and airfield improvements arrive together. A competitive process lets other FBO and aviation-services companies, several of which signalled interest during public comment, price those elements against Greene's terms.

The next concrete milestone is the county's request for proposals, which the aviation department said could be issued by February 2027, followed by roughly two to three months for selection. What bidders offer for the 40 acres of airport property, and whether the wetland parcel gets a stated use that satisfies the county attorney's condition, will settle how much of Greene's original structure survives.