By case
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August 2, 1999
Developers Not Objecting To Airport Development Plans The Gazette Telegraph (Rich Laden) August 2, 1999 ‘Randy Case, president of Case International Co. and whose family is a partner in a group that owns 30 acres at Powers and Fountain boulevards, said he and colleagues haven’t said a lot about the city’s airport development plans. However, they’ll be heard from eventually. Private developers want the airport to succeed, Case said. It the city snags big users, money from leasing airport property (the airport used federal funds to buy land and therefore can’t sell it) gets plowed back into the facility. A healthy airport stands a better chance of attracting more flights and even new airlines. In turn, that helps the business community, which wants as many nonstop flights to as many destinations as possible. What’s more, Case added, big users at the airport mean employees who need places to eat and buy gas, among other goods and services. Private developers are poised to offer their land for restaurants and service stations. “That’s why the private sector, so far, is standing back a bit, I suspect, and watching,” Case said. “They want to see how its going to unfold.” Case predicted: “The private sector has a level of resistance that has yet to be heard as it relates to the competitive factor and as it relates to land use on property that otherwise could be private. That voice will mature over time.” ‘