Plans to renovate the Ocala International Airport are taking off.

City Council gave staff permission to take the next step in developing the eight hundred acre airport complex.

By July, the city plans to advertise for requests for proposals to developers to develop the hundreds of acres of land designated for commercial and industrial development.

They will also build a control tower, resurface the runway, expand the ramp, and build hangers.

Ocala city engineer Bruce Phillips says,

"Around state road forty we're looking at commercial development which will be hotels retain, strip malls stuff like that on the west side. We hope to have aviation land for purposes we would hope to have hangars come in airplane repair commercial flight stuff. West of that would be industrial."

The hope is that the airport will be able to sustain itself and eventually turn a profit.

By Sarah Pusateri