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Last fiscal year the Port Authority saw earnings of $150,000 after all operating expenses. It was the first year the field operated in the black since 1982, the last full year it functioned as the region’s airline airport. Page Field has to support itself on airport-related income and state and federal grants. It receives no property tax revenues from Lee County. The Port Authority immediately reinvested the earnings into improvements at Page Field. None of the money earned at Page can be transferred for use at RSW, and vice versa.

Several new projects are just getting under way: An airfield signage program for pilots begins this month, as will construction of 26 new T-hangars (so named because of their shape) on the east side of the airport. Also planned is the addition of angled taxiways, which will increase operational capacity and safety and mean fewer delays for air traffic.

Pilots have been waiting patiently (some not so patiently) for the arrival of new T-hangars. About 250 aircraft are based at Page Field. All hangars and permanent parking positions are filled, and during the winter season, the airport must resort to temporary parking for overflow. The waiting list for hangars currently stands at about 85 (whittled down from 230 with the addition of a $50 deposit), according to Jim Cawthard of the Port Authority.

The cost of building 26 hangars will run about $1.3 million, split fifty-fifty with a grant from the state of Florida. “You can see it eats up revenues real quick to provide hangars and develop the airport for the aviation community,” notes Modys.

With increased activity at the airport comes increased concern about noise affecting nearby residential areas. A few residents of Whiskey Creek, a few miles to the west of Page Field, have complained about noise from jets. “Wherever there’s an airport, there are always noise issues,” says Modys. The problem is not severe at Page, which serves mostly smaller, lighter general aviation aircraft that don’t generate as much noise as larger, older jets. Nonetheless, the Port Authority is sensitive to these noise issues, says Modys, and promotes a “good neighbor policy” among pilots who use the field.

An Enticement for Business

Page Field is one of many enticements to businesses locating in Lee County. It was “a very important factor” in choosing the site for Summerlin Centre, a 34-acre office park planned for Summerlin and Boy Scout Road, according to Gary Tasman of Grubb & Ellis/VIP-D’Alessandro, representing Naples-based developer Joe D’Jamoos. “It gives us another demand generator,” Tasman explains. Indeed, the location has already attracted a prospective tenant who has a business directly related to Page Field.

This is the first Fort Myers project for D’Jamoos, who says the proximity of Page Field helped sway him on the location. He hopes to attract large companies that have multiple locations around the region or country, and thus need easy access to an airport. He also plans a hotel and conference facility for the site, so “it will be a real advantage to be near the airport,” he says.

“Page Field is a real positive for the city of Fort Myers from an economic development point of view,” says the city’s economic development director, Bill Mankin. “It spurs development.” He only regrets that the airport lies just outside the city limits, so Fort Myers derives no tax dollars from it.

From Lee County’s perspective, Page Field “has a significant effect on the local economy,” says Janet Watermeier, director of the Economic Development Office of Lee County. EDO lists Page as one of many assets the county offers businesses, and touts Page as a companion airport to Southwest Florida International. “What’s important about it is you have a growing international airport and you have the private aviation side. The two of those are very compatible,” she says.

Although RSW also accommodates private aircraft — and is only six miles from Page — the two airports serve two different geographic markets, says Modys. RSW serves south to Bonita Springs and Naples. Page Field serves downtown Fort Myers, south to Sanibel and Captiva. RSW also has a longer runway attractive for larger corporate jets and international operations.

Watermeier also sees Page as an appealing site for attracting aviation-related businesses to the area. To encourage such businesses to locate on the airport, the Port Authority started an “aviation incubator” offering offices at minimal rent in the renovated Gulf American building on the east side of the airport. It has been “tremendously successful,” says Modys. The building, once used as a staging point for people brought in to tour and purchase property in Cape Coral, now houses two flight schools, a helicopter operator, sightseeing operation, aircraft sales business, a flying club, and a flight physician.

One of the incubator’s recent success stories is Gulfshore Maintenance and Gulfshore Helicopter. Owner Bob Walker moved out of the incubator when he built a new 10,000-square-foot hangar and office building to house his growing business last year. Walker, who has operated his business at Page for eight years, credits the Port Authority with improving the airport in the past five years — “both the physical plant and how it’s operated,” he says.

Walker has a few complaints, mostly encountered in the course of building his facility. The miasma of government regulations and requirements for building on the airport was difficult to navigate, leading to many a sleepless night, says Walker. “The reason why you don’t see a restaurant here and other maintenance facilities is it takes a lot of time, planning, and a will to carry on.”

Despite the challenges, Walker, like many other Page Field users, is banking on the airport’s upward growth curve to continue feeding millions of dollars into the local economy. The airport has been a successful Lee County fixture for the past 75 years, and looks to be on course for the foreseeable future.

Susan Holly is a freelance writer based on Sanibel.