WSTB

My suggestion to the airport director is to ask for the funding to come from the taxing entities that are reaping the benefit of the taxable properties there at the airport. My guess would be the City of Greensboro & Guilford County. Although I don't recall whether GSO annexed the airport property, if not then Guilford can pay the nut.

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/2 ... l?page=all

As I recall, they cannot annex the airport or airport property (by agreement), but they've done a great job of encircling.

Why not allow Forsyth County to annex part of Guilford County, so that part of the airport and the development area is in Forsyth County? No city limits would change in this deal. Only Forsyth County would grow a little larger and Guilford a little smaller, so the airport is evenly split. This could be in exchange for financial assistance or a long term financial assistance plan? Otherwise, it is the GSO airport, seeking help for economic development projects in GSO/Guilford.

Winston-Salem only benefits from new flights to in-demand destinations for business. Winston-Salem and Forsyth County should only offer assistance for new flights and nothing more. I don't see the neighbors offering financial assistance to help with the Innovation Quarter.

I completely concur with your assessment.

That airport benefits neither Winston-Salem nor Forsyth. People in Winston do not even fly out of that airport anyway....they drive to Charlotte or RDU.

Maybe Forsyth should ask for money from Guilford, in return, to help buy and develop land around Smith Reynolds, or better yet, at Oak Summit. The marvelous aerotropolis works both ways. There is just as much employment in the aviation industry in Winston-Salem (and now DAVIE CO) as there is near PTI.

Counties are established by the legislature and can only be changed by the legislature and not done often.

Counties are established by the legislature and can only be changed by the legislature and not done often.

Asheville had to build its airport in Henderson County, due to terrain, and worked-out a deal with Henderson County for the land, so I know its possible.

I support helping to bring more flights to PTI, which helps attract jobs to Winston-Salem, but that is it. Finding money for economic development on the land around the airport is Greensboro/Guilford/High Point's problem. Just as finding money to help with airport related economic development in eastern Forsyth County is Winston-Salem/Kernersville/Forsyth County's problem.

I would love to see a high speed rail-line from Winston-Salem to Charlotte, connecting downtown to Charlotte's airport. I'm sure Charlotte would like that too.

ME TOO!!!

I find it ridiculous that Winston or Forsyth would even consider such a proposal. Like was stated above, whoever is getting the taxable revenue from all the new development should cough up the funding. When GSO, HPT & Guilford County start throwing cash into Camel City projects like new developments at WFUBMC & the Innovation Qtr., then maybe we'll talk. Until then, the airport is in your backyard, you fund it.

http://www.greensboro.com/news/council- ... 76cfd.html

Agreed, that is laughable. The airport was not built straddling the two counties' boundaries as it should have been and the three-character code was not changed from GSO to PTI, which was available until a few years ago. It is the Greensboro Airport. On a trip just last month in two airports I listened to announcements (and noticed on the boards) flights to Raleigh/Durham, but then only Greensboro (not Greensboro/Winston-Salem). Officials in W-S are delusional if they believe that sticking signs for Winston-Salem here and there at the Greensboro Airport makes it a W-S airport as well; the way it is handled nationally makes folk nationally think W-S is a suburb of Greensboro. Winston-Salem lost on this one, but hey eventually the area will be large enough to support two commercial airports again.

I travel at least 5 times a month and quit flying out of Greensboro years ago. It's worth the extra mileage to fly out of Charlotte. I would be fine with them dropping the PTI completely and going with Greensboro only. That airport is nothing to boast about.

It seems there is a possible name change being discussed http://www.journalnow.com/business/business_news/local/piedmont-triad-international-name-change-possible-qubein-says/article_39da23a1-10f5-5f8e-84f0-c50f47c2bc97.html I wonder what name will best reflect Greensboro Metro since this airport is NOT in the Winston-Salem metro area. I wonder if the three-character code will change if'n the name is changed? This is not yet mentioned in the Greensboro Business Journal.

Great in-depth reporting from the Journal as usual.