MISSION
The New College–SRQ Airport Land History Project preserves the history of the 2023-2026 conflict over airport land at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport involving New College of Florida, the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the State of Florida.
THE LAND:
For over half a century, New College of Florida has occupied more than thirty acres of land owned by the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ). In 2023, SRQ offered to sell that land to New College. Because SRQ is a federally obligated airport, the sale required pre-approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
In April 2024, the FAA declined to approve the request to release the property from federal obligations.
WHY IT MATTERS:
This is about more than thirty+ acres of airport land.
Airport land is a finite public resource. Decisions made today can determine whether an airport has room to grow decades from now. At the same time, New College is a public institution with its own plans for expansion. This dispute brought those legitimate—but different—responsibilities into direct conflict.
At its heart is a larger question:
How should public institutions protect the assets entrusted to them when today's priorities conflict with with tomorrow's needs?
THE STORY:
This website documents how the conflict developed, why the FAA rejected the proposed sale, and what the public record reveals about the decisions that followed.
Drawing on FAA correspondence, Airport Authority records, leases, planning documents, maps, appraisals, public records, and contemporaneous reporting, it tells the story of one piece of land—and other questions of public stewardship, institutional independence, and the responsibilities that surround it.
