Airport Board takes 40-year outlook

Architect Martin Wander designed the new terminal at Springfield-Branson National Airport with an eye to expandability, flexibility and regional flair - features its soon-to-be-decommissioned predecessor lacked.

When the terminal opens to the public May 6, Wander's design will officially begin its test of time. At an open house last month, hundreds who toured the $65 million glass-encased facility - themed after the Ozarks' waterways and natural beauty - relished in its resplendence. The 275,000-square-foot terminal is rich with amenities, technology and convenience, but Wander - vice president of aviation architecture for Jacksonville, Fla.-based consulting firm Reynolds, Smith & Hills Inc. - said built-in flexibility is perhaps the building's most valuable trait.

"I think that when they grow, it will be a very comfortable growth," he said. "I'm sure that growth in the existing terminal has been uncomfortable."

Growing comfortably has long been a goal of the Airport Board, which consists of 11 Springfield businesspeople who manage the airport.

Board member J. Howard Fisk described the state-of-the-art terminal as a "purpose-built structure" that fits into the Federal Aviation Administration's national transportation grid. The FAA contributed $20 million to the $117 million terminal project, which also includes the construction of Airport Boulevard and 1,826 parking spaces. Walton Construction Co. LLC was the general contractor.

"Many of the things in the old terminal were like remodeling a house," said Fisk, owner of Fisk Limousines. "You're just adding on to maybe add a new use. ... We've done very well with the limitations we've had. People can now walk into a purpose-built structure that is designed by the best in the business for the most efficient operation."

With the big day right around the corner, Colorado-based airport consultant Michael Boyd reminded the community of the three-year project's enormity.

"To get this done is like giving birth to a herd of elephants," said Boyd, who studied the Springfield airport's loss of passengers to markets with more affordable airfares.

Immediate improvements

Wander said design flaws at the existing terminal, such as parking lots blocking expansion zones and a security checkpoint sandwiched into a hallway, won't be repeated at the new terminal, which has a 40-year life expectancy.

There's plenty of room to expand the terminal, and utilities have been buried to ease future expansion, Wander said. Green space between parking areas and the new boulevard - which is accessed via Chestnut Expressway - eventually will be paved when the need for more parking arises, he added.

"What the other facility can't do is what this one now can, and No. 1 would be expansion," said Aviation Director Gary Cyr. "The expansion of the old facility would have been a long and linear activity. ... We're not doing a near-term fix."

The new terminal's flexible interior allows for a future connection to other concourses and a widened security area should the Transportation Security Administration decide to beef up its presence in coming years. Security changes implemented after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were shoehorned into the old terminal, Cyr said.

On the air traffic side, the new terminal has 10 gates that can accommodate up to 14 aircraft overnight - a significant number for a market Springfield's size, Fisk noted.

Cyr said the terminal can be incrementally expanded to 45 gates without interfering with the taxiway, runway or parking lots. Springfield's population, however, would have to triple to the size of Tulsa, Okla., to warrant the build-out, he said.

"The build-out in the future will minimize impact on existing operations; that's critical," Cyr said. "What you don't want to do is get into build mode again and inconvenience your customers. That's a bad thing."

The terminal's practical, single-level layout also has received positive feedback, Cyr said, noting that escalators in the old terminal were problematic for some visitors. Multiple entry points and way-finding signs also should help alleviate bottlenecks, he added.

Numerous upgrades aimed at business travelers, or "road warriors" as Fisk calls them, also should earn the terminal some high marks. The facility is Wi-Fi compatible, and columns throughout the concourse have duplex outlets and USB ports for laptops, digital audio players and cell phones.

"The majority of travelers out of our airport are business travelers, so it's very important that business amenities are in place," Fisk said. "It's an economic development tool."

Airport Board member Brent Singleton, partner at financial planning firm Heim, Young & Associates Inc., agreed.

"If I was an executive or a CEO of a corporation looking to add a new facility or relocate, I would want to come to a community that's being proactive and not reactive," he said. "Transportation and education are two of the biggest components to community success. You move a lot of people - as the globalization of the economy continues - through airports, and so businesses look to see how we're doing on both those fronts."

Revenue and real estate

The airport issued $97 million in revenue bonds to pay for the new terminal project, and the debt will be retired with funding from airport revenue, passenger facility charges and annual federal Airport Improvement Program funds.

Airport officials have emphasized time and again that no local taxpayer money was earmarked for the project.

"Whoever flies through the airport - that's who's paying for the debt service of the facility," Singleton said. "In addition to that, they modeled scenarios where there would be even dramatic reduction of passenger traffic ... to make sure a conservative approach is taken to servicing the debt."

Cyr said the airport plans to make annual payments that are 1.5 times the required amount, but even if passenger numbers drop 15 percent in a single year, he said debt service could be maintained at 1.25 times the required amount.

Airport officials also are counting on a new revenue stream: lease income from the old terminal.

A joint task force of Airport Board members and representatives from the Springfield Business and Development Corp. are drawing up marketing documents for the 175,000-square-foot property and neighboring parking lots, said Fisk, who serves on the task force.

Initial interest in the old terminal has been promising, Cyr said, adding that a long-term lease would be ideal.

"I feel very good about some of the directions we may be able to go with some of those proposals," he said. "We could have a potential announcement in 60 to 90 days."

In the meantime, Fisk is encouraging Ozarks residents to explore the possibility of flying out of the new terminal the next time they travel. Some carriers have lowered airfares, and he suggested the hassle and added cost of driving to an airport in a larger city may not offer a significant savings.

"It's everybody's airport," he said. "It's a community asset. We need to do what we can to fully utilize it. That's going to keep people flying in here. The more people flying in here, the more competitive we're going to be and the happier the airlines are going to be to provide us service."[[In-content Ad]]