Faced with likely denial, the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport has withdrawn a request to the Federal Aviation Authority to approve the sale of land to New College of Florida.
New College officials offered $11.5 million to purchase 30.94 acres from the airport for needed renovations at existing buildings and potential sports program facilities. That sale was rejected by the FAA, then appealed by the airport, and it has now been withdrawn.
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“In the end, it became apparent that they were not going to approve the land release,” airport SECO Rick Piccolo said. “It just made no sense to continue this back and forth when it was kind of clear, so we’ll just withdraw the request. At the end of the day, New College has 31 more years on their lease and it will be someone else’s problem sometime in the future.”