"They needed land for their expansion and they needed it right away," Jacobson said. "If we had started (developing the land) the costs would have been unbelievably high."

Jacobson never advertised the property as being for sale, but the family received several offers from other development companies, nonetheless. Some of the offers were higher than the airport's $30.5 million offer, but the fact that the offer was made for cash-only, and the airport's flexibility in closing the deal — which has been pending since October — convinced the Jacobsons to choose the airport over the other contenders.

The one-hour closing deal was the "smoothest closing that we've done," said Jacobson, who had no regrets over parting with the land Wednesday.

"It's kind of a historical transaction," Jacobson said. "It was kind of nice to just be around the table there and realize it may be a historical event for the airport, too, and this will be the springboard now for the next 25 years and things that will happen. When we purchased the property, we didn't dream that the events would go in this direction."

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