Jeff Greene sought county airport land and a jet terminal. Now he must compete

Greene asked for the land and the jet base in one deal

Billionaire investor Jeff Greene asked Palm Beach County to sell him 131 acres beside its North County airport and lease him a site there for a private-jet terminal. If you fly private in Palm Beach County, the winner would hold that terminal lease for half a century. Stet News, a nonprofit Palm Beach County news site, reports that the county's main airport has no room for more private planes. North County, off Beeline Highway, is meant to take some of them, Stet adds.

Why it matters: Palm Beach County owns the land and the airport. On Oct. 20 county commissioners voted 7-0 to put the land sale and the terminal lease out for rival bids instead of dealing with Greene alone. The lease would be at market rent, the county's agenda says, meaning the going rate, not a discount. A rival, Sky Harbour, already has its own proposal for the terminal site on file, the agenda shows. Stet says the company bills itself as the country's largest builder of private hangar campuses and jet terminals.

Greene says the idea began when he could not find covered parking for his Gulfstream at the county's main airport, Stet reports. He was disappointed by the vote but will likely keep pursuing the deal, even in an open contest, Stet reported Oct. 31. As of Nov. 1, nothing had been sold, leased or signed, per county summaries and Stet.

Greene is an investor who became a billionaire betting against subprime mortgage bonds as the housing market crashed, Forbes says. He spent more than $30 million in 2018 trying, and failing, to win the Democratic primary for governor, Forbes reports. Maria Marino is the county commissioner who moved to seek bids. Laura Beebe is the county's airports director. Harvey Oyer, an attorney, spoke for Greene at the Oct. 20 meeting, which Greene did not attend, Stet reports.

What Greene offered, and on what terms

Greene's company, Jet Greene LLC, sent the county a proposal dated Aug. 7, the agenda shows. It offered $30,000,000 for about 131 acres of undeveloped county land beside the airport, for non-airport use. Stet reports that the price is based on recent appraisals and that the land runs along Beeline Highway.

The offer came with conditions, the agenda says. The land would have to be rezoned. The Federal Aviation Administration would have to approve. And Greene would get a 50-year lease, at market rent, to develop a second fixed-base operation on airport land: the business that runs a private-jet terminal.

That lease would start only 60 days after a longer runway and an air traffic control tower are finished and running, the agenda says. The proposal describes the land purchase as meant to speed up those airport projects. It was filed under the state's county economic development law, which lets counties lease or convey land for economic development.

Under the plan, the terminal lease covers 40 acres set aside for expansion, Stet reports. A professional operator would run a terminal, hangars, a fueling station and crew space there. Greene estimates he would invest $60 million to $80 million to build them, Stet reports.

Greene asked the county to negotiate with him alone, Stet reports. State law would allow that if the 131 acres were used for economic development. At the Oct. 20 meeting, Oyer could not say what Greene planned for the land. County Attorney David Ottey said that without that detail, the offer did not qualify for an award without competition, Stet reports.

Oyer insisted the whole deal meets the law. He cited "2,900 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs and a $60 (million) to $100 million investment, in addition to giving you your runway extension," Stet reports. Those are his figures.

County Administrator Joe Abruzzo said Greene toured the airport with county officials about a year ago, and they then sat down and brainstormed ideas, Stet reports.

The county voted to seek other offers

On Oct. 6, commissioners told staff to bring the proposal back so the board could decide whether to keep evaluating it or reject it, the agenda says.

On Oct. 20, Marino offered a substitute motion: have staff write a request for proposals for the whole package. That package is the $30 million sale of airport land for non-airport use, plus a lease at market rent for a second private-jet terminal. Commissioner Flores seconded it, and it carried 7-0, the county's meeting recording shows. WPTV reported that commissioners voted unanimously to open the opportunity to other developers and aviation companies.

"What Jet Greene has brought to the table is a starting point," Marino said at the meeting. She added that "if there are people that can make a better bid, then they make a better bid."

Marino also told residents, "There will not be commercial flights." She and Beebe said no development plan for the 131 acres has been approved, Stet reports.

The runway and the tower the deal is tied to

The county plans to stretch the airport's diagonal runway to 6,000 feet from 4,300 feet. That extension was part of the airport's master plan, approved in 2016, WFLX reported. Stet reported Oct. 31 that federal officials signed off in November 2024 and that the extension carries an estimated price tag of $30 million.

The runway is in design, and "Partial funding for the runway project has been secured," the county's Oct. 20 agenda says. The county expects to pay for the work with grants, passenger facility charges and airport revenue. Stet reported Oct. 31 that no money has been lined up to pay the estimated $30 million.

The tower is further back. The FAA is studying where a control tower would go, and the airports department has applied for federal tower funding, with no award issued, the county's Oct. 20 agenda says. Stet reported Oct. 31 that a tower would cost $35 million, money the airport does not have, and a virtual tower an estimated $14 million.

The county is also weighing a customs station at the airport, which is not tied to Greene's proposal. Stet reports that customs would make the leased land more valuable, because flights from the Bahamas or other countries could land there without first stopping at the main airport.

Rivals want the terminal, not the land

Sky Harbour Group Corp., a private-jet hangar and terminal developer, sent the county its own unsolicited proposal, dated Sept. 16, under another state law. It covers a second fixed-base operation at the airport, the agenda says. The airports department has also heard from other operators interested in a second terminal. No one else had recently asked to buy or lease the 131 acres, the agenda says.

Sky Harbour's proposal calls for leasing the 40-acre terminal site for $178 million over 50 years and investing $62 million to develop it, Stet reported Oct. 31. It made no offer for the 131 acres. Stet says the company bills itself as the country's largest developer of home base campuses and fixed-base operations.

"Palm Beach County is one of the fastest-growing business aviation communities in the country, yet its based-aircraft owners remain underserved by modern hangar infrastructure," Sky Harbour wrote, Stet reports. Speaking for the company at the meeting, Stephen Abrams of Ellison Partners said: "We just don't want the plane to take off without us," WPTV reported.

LuftCar, which builds infrastructure for electric vertical-takeoff aircraft, also spoke. Its representative, Taniel Koushakjian, favored a search for proposals, WPTV reported. Brad Kost of Stellar Aviation said private-jet terminal operators would likely match Greene's $30 million to win a 50-year lease, Stet reports. That is his prediction.

The neighbors

The airport's closest neighbor is Avenir, a development of nearly 4,000 homes rising in Palm Beach Gardens, Stet reports. Stet describes the 131 acres as intended for light industrial use. The land sits just north of the runway and is mostly wetlands. The airport's master plan expected it to be developed, but a recent county effort to sell it drew no interest, Stet reports.

Sara Miller, who lives in the nearby PGA National community, worries that building on the airport land would bring warehouses or distribution centers, Stet reports.

Their side

Greene told Stet, for its Oct. 31 report, he was disappointed that commissioners chose to seek bids against his unsolicited proposal, and that he will likely stay in, even in an open contest. He said the idea began when he could not find covered parking for his Gulfstream at the county's main airport, and that he is not pursuing it to make money, Stet reports.

What's next

What's next: County staff are to draw up the bidding terms for the 131 acres and the 40-acre terminal site. Beebe said she would bring them back early next year, Stet reported Oct. 31. She said the aviation department could issue requests for proposals by February 2027, The Palm Beach Post reported Oct. 21. No date is fixed, and no solicitation had been posted as of Nov. 1, per the county's posted meeting summaries.

Sources we read

Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners: the Oct. 20, 2026 agenda, item 5B-2, pages 37 and 38; the board's meeting summary for Oct. 20 (a rolling page, archived Nov. 1, still its latest item as of Nov. 1); and the county's video recording of the Oct. 20 meeting. Stet News, Oct. 31, by Laurie Mermet and Joel Engelhardt, and its About page. WPTV, Oct. 21, by Joel Lopez. The Palm Beach Post, Oct. 21, by Julius Whigham II, via Yahoo News. WFLX, May 2024. Forbes's profile of Jeff Greene, read Nov. 1.