The state is paying the full $6.25 million for new signs and security at the West Palm Beach airport, with no county match. A further $6.5 million for the terminal needs an equal county share.
The state will pay the full $6.25 million cost of new signs and security work at President Donald J. Trump International Airport in West Palm Beach. Palm Beach County commissioners accepted the money Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The grant is part of a $12.75 million increase in a state grant agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The other $6.5 million goes to the airport’s terminal and concourse upgrade, and the county must match that part dollar for dollar.
What the county accepted
The details are in item 3F-2 of the County Commission’s Nov. 10 agenda (PDF). The amendment to the FDOT grant does two things:
| Project | New state money | County match |
|---|---|---|
| Signage and security improvements (new FDOT project 451546-1-94-02) | $6,250,000 | None: “funded 100% by FDOT” |
| Terminal and Concourse Modernization Phase 1 (project 451546-1-94-01) | $6,500,000 | 50% of eligible costs, $6,500,000 |
| Total increase | $12,750,000 |
The terminal project already had $7.5 million from the original agreement, with the same 50% match, the agenda says. The amendment brings the state’s share of that project to $14 million. The agenda does not say where the county’s match will come from.
The item went through on the consent agenda, which commissioners approved 7-0 without pulling it for discussion, the county’s meeting video shows. The airports director had already signed the amendment under authority the commission delegated earlier.
How this fits the renaming
The agenda calls the new money “signage and security improvements” and does not list what the signs are. The county set out the cost of the renaming in a request to the Florida Senate (PDF) dated Feb. 12. It asked for $5.5 million:
- $5 million to replace signs across the airport campus
- $250,000 for rebranding equipment, vehicles, uniforms and marketing material
- $250,000 for brand development, technology updates and the overhead announcement, emergency messaging and phone systems
The request gave Dec. 30, 2026, as the estimated start of the sign work, finishing Dec. 30, 2027.
The same Nov. 10 agenda also shows the county’s legal bill for the name. Item 3D-2 records a $60,000 engagement of the law firm Troutman Pepper Locke, dated Feb. 18, 2026, for “the naming rights and license agreement for Donald J. Trump International Airport.” Commissioners received and filed it with the rest of the consent agenda.
Other airport money accepted the same day
The consent agenda carried three more items for the West Palm Beach airport, which the county calls DJT:
- $174,165 from the Federal Aviation Administration to buy and install 70 vehicle movement area transponders. The county adds a $58,055 match from airport reserves.
- $365,000 from the Transportation Security Administration to repay part of what the county spends on Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies at the security checkpoints, for Sept. 1, 2026, to Aug. 31, 2027.
- A one-year extension of Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.’s construction manager contract for airport-wide building work, to Nov. 18, 2027. Its work so far includes a new revenue control building, whose guaranteed maximum price is $11,173,291.
What it means for you
- Travelers: the agenda gives no timetable for the new signs or the security work. The county’s earlier request to the state estimated the sign work would run from late December 2026 through December 2027.
- Taxpayers: the $6.25 million for signs and security carries no county match. The $6.5 million for the terminal does, and the agenda does not name the source of the county’s share.
- Flight and parking information: the airport’s own site is flydjt.org. Our getting around page explains which agencies still use the old Palm Beach International name.
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