A $67 Million Private Aviation Campus Breaks Ground at Miami Executive Airport. Airport Land Is Its Own Industrial Asset Class

Ocean Aviation broke ground on October 7 on a $67 million private aviation campus at Miami Executive Airport in southwest Miami-Dade, turning about 40 acres of undeveloped airport land into up to 400,000 square feet of hangar space, a fixed-base operator terminal and a fuel farm, according to Traded. The company, backed by Kennedy Lewis Investment Management, secured a 40-year ground lease at the airport in 2024.

What is being built

The campus will combine shared and private hangars for aircraft owners, corporate flight departments and charter operators, along with a premium terminal for private travelers. It also includes a 32,000-square-foot common-use taxi lane and ramp designed to serve U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which supports international private flights. Lemartec is delivering the project as design-builder, with Schenkel Shultz as design partner. Miami-Dade County expects about 2,900 construction jobs and 250 permanent positions. The campus will also become the new home of the Wings Over Miami Air Museum and include a classroom for the Civil Air Patrol.

The project extends Ocean Aviation’s footprint in the region. In September the company acquired National Jets at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, giving it operations at two of South Florida’s major airports.

Why airport land behaves differently

Hangars are industrial buildings with unusual requirements: very wide, tall doors, clear spans with no columns, apron and taxiway access, fuel and fire protection. Most of the land that can support them sits inside airport boundaries and is controlled by a public owner, so it is leased rather than sold. Under a ground lease, the developer builds and owns the improvements for the term of the lease while the county keeps the land. The length of the remaining term shapes how a lender will finance the buildings and what an investor will pay for them later. That makes airport property a distinct asset class, with different pricing and risks than a conventional warehouse.

The demand around the airport

A campus of this size draws a supporting cast that does not need to be on the airfield: avionics and instrument shops, parts and tooling suppliers, aircraft interior and upholstery work, detailing, catering and crew services. Those businesses typically look for small-bay and flex space with good truck access within a short drive of the airport. Aviation and aircraft maintenance have been among the most consistent sources of industrial demand in Miami-Dade, and private aviation is adding to that pull in the southern part of the county.

What this means for you

If you run an aviation service or supply business, the time to secure nearby space is before the campus opens and competitors arrive. If you own flex or small-bay buildings near Miami Executive Airport, aviation users are a strong tenant pool, and their specific needs, such as power, ceiling height and secure storage, are worth highlighting when you market space. If you are an investor, airport ground leases can produce durable income, but underwrite the remaining term, the reversion of improvements and the airport authority’s approval rights carefully.

AXCESS Commercial works with aviation users and the owners who house them, from leasing hangar-adjacent flex space to listing buildings for sale and managing them for investors.

Talk to our team about leasing, listing or managing aviation-related space →