Airglades International Airport Closer to Taking Flight with the help of Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Graduate Students and The Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS® (SIOR)

The winners of the 2017 Challenge Grant featuring graduate students associated with the development of Airglades International Airport in Hendry County will be announced August 31 at Nova Southeastern University (NSU).

The event is sponsored by The Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS® (SIOR) Florida Chapter and the SIOR Foundation. The students are pursuing Masters of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) degrees in the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship at NSU.

The presentation will take place at 5:30 pm at Nova Southeastern University’s Carl DeSantis Building, located at 3301 College Avenue in Davie, FL. A private reception for event attendees, the students and their families will immediately follow the presentation and awards ceremony.

Airglades International Airport

Subject to final approvals, construction to build Airglades International Airport in Hendry County, Florida (about 80 miles north of Miami) is tentatively planned to commence during the fourth quarter of 2018. Currently, the approximately 3,000-acre airport area has a World War II-dated airport used by a parachute jumping school and private pilots, plus fields of sugar cane, grazing areas for cattle and open space.

Ultimately, the new cargo-specific airport will feature state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution facilities designed specifically for perishable goods. The airport could open as early as 2020.

The addition of a nearby cargo-centric airport (Airglades) will greatly relieve Miami International Airport (MIA) of commercial traffic and importantly, it will allow MIA to increase passenger traffic at its airport and thereby boost the South Florida economy with greater levels of tourism and business spending in area hotels, restaurants, retail and other commercial activities. Airglades should also substantially reduce truck traffic in the greater Miami area and specifically, between MIA and downtown Miami.

Florida Governor Rick Scott’s office has recently awarded Hendry County $1 million in state funds for further planning and development of the Airglades International Airport. Those funds are available to the county October 1 of this year.

The Challenge Grant Competition

NSU’s Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) program (www.nova.edu/realestate) created three teams with four students each under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Wuerzer, associate professor of real estate development, to develop design concepts associated with ancillary land-uses, creating amenities and related development on property immediately adjacent to Airglades International Airport. Students from the winning and second-place teams will receive scholarships. $20,000 has been funded by the SIOR Foundation and SIOR Florida Chapter for this project and the August 31 event.

The structured relationship between SIOR and Nova Southeastern University to create a challenge grant program and make it an integral part of the MSRED education was initiated a few years ago by Ted Konigsberg, SIOR, SIOR Foundation Trustee and the President of Infinity Commercial Real Estate based in Miami Lakes, FL, with Dr. Fred Forgey, Director of the Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) Program at the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Konigsberg is an active executive committee leader in the SIOR Florida Chapter.

During the Challenge Grant event August 31, Konigsberg will present an overview of the design concepts from the three competing teams. Dr. Forgey, along with Dr. Thomas Wuerzer from NSU, will conduct a question and answer session about the parameters of the competition. Also expected to speak at the event is David Hagan, SIOR and the 2017 SIOR Foundation President. He is also a Senior Vice President with CBRE-Triad in Greensboro, NC. There will be other speakers and VIP attendees to be announced just prior to the event.

“The SIOR Foundation’s mission is to educate, enhance and expand the commercial real estate community which it fulfills through scholarships, grants and programs on a regional, national and international basis. The SIOR Challenge Grant with Nova Southeastern University is just one example of how the SIOR Foundation partners with universities to allow exceptional students to experience commercial real estate and help develop cutting-edge solutions to complex challenges which can then serve as a national model,” said David Hagan.

“This project allows our students to take what they learned in the classroom and apply it to a real-time initiative,” said Fred Forgey, Ph.D., professor and director of the MSRED program at NSU’s Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship. “Not too many graduate students get this kind of experience while still in college.  It’s a great resume builder.”