Regions Southeast | Miami
Adler Group to Invest $200M+ in New Business Park at Miami Airport
Nov 8, 2007
By: Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

The Adler Group is planning to spend more than $200 million to develop the Airside International Business Park at Opa-locka Executive Airport near Miami. Preliminary plans call for new FBO facilities, corporate, maintenance and cargo hangars as well as space for retail, offices, warehouses, a hotel and parking.  

“Our vision for Airside International Business Park is to create an aviation hub that will bring leading companies into the area, establishing the Opa-locka airport as an economic engine for the region, and an economic beacon for aviation companies searching for the best resources available in Florida,” Michael Adler, chairman & CEO of Adler Group, said in press release this week.

The airport, located seven miles north of Miami International Airport and 12 miles north of Miami’s city center, is owned by Miami-Dade County. Last year, Adler’s AA Acquisitions bought the leasing rights to 240 acres at Opa-locka airport from Stagecoach Aviation for about $20 million. Adler has a lease for 70 years with the county with rent payments beginning in November 2008, according to a Nov. 1 story by Charles Rabin in the Miami Herald. The property leased by Adler Group has runway access as well as commercial space along the airport perimeter. The company’s press release noted that the property with direct access to the taxi and runway areas would be “built- to-suit the needs of existing tenants or new businesses or individuals.”

Adler said in the release that AA Acquisitions would work with the remaining tenants on the 240 acres who are willing to commit to long-term leases. The tenants have had month-to-month leases in recent years. But the company may have problems working with some of the longtime tenants. Rabin noted in The Miami Herald story that tenants, worried about rising rents, have hired an attorney to ensure any new rents are fair.

Adler could not be reached for comment before press time today.

The Adler Group and its affiliates have developed and acquired more than 14 million square feet of industrial, office, retail and residential real estate, much of it in South Florida. The company developed over 4.5 million square feet of office and industrial space in the MICC project at Miami International
   
Opa-locka airport has one of the longest general aviation runways in the United States at 8,000 feet. A new $11 million air traffic control tower is expected to be completed by 2009. A former Naval base, it is now home to the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station. There are about 270 based aircraft at the airport, which also houses maintenance facilities for large commercial aircraft that cannot be accommodated at Miami International Airport, according to Miami-Dade County. A recent economic impact study shows that the airport has an economic impact of an estimated $100 million and generates over 1,900 jobs.



 
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