Airport board eyes cuts; new terminal plans in sharper focus
After a new round of cuts and another trip through financing options, Des Moines Airport Authority board member Kerty Levy is bullish on a proposed terminal and related improvements.
“This is the first time it seems like it’s almost a reality. It’s exciting,” Levy said after a team of consultants led by HNTB of Iowa Inc. laid out the latest plans.
“It makes it a lot clearer now,” said board Chairwoman Liz Ward.
A public meeting on the latest plans is set for 5:30 p.m. March 28 in the Cloud Room at the airport. The board is set to vote April 10 on the latest version.
What once was a $200 million deficit that had grown by $25 million to $50 million has fallen back to $200 million. Consultants said an eventual increase in airport fees (Congress willing), a proposed $65 million state grant from gambling receipts, and additional cuts in costs of perhaps $30 million could balance the project budget.
Other options: bumping up the conservative 2 percent growth figure used, reducing the 20 percent contingency fund, and delaying the $17 million demolition of the old terminal.
Basically, the new plan keeps the same services, but saves space. The terminal would still have 14 gates, with room for four more when passenger counts hit higher levels.
Terminal construction would begin in 2025-26 and would take three years.
With consultants’ proposed changes, the new terminal and related changes would cost an estimated $433.9 million, including the demolition costs. It had been $496 million, roughly.
The terminal itself would cost $284 million, down from $334 million.
“The public needs to know that the board is doing everything it can, through cash reserves and reducing costs, to make this a possibility,” said Kevin Foley, the airport’s executive director. Consultants stressed that no general tax receipts would be used for the project, which would rely heavily on passenger fees, leases and FAA grants.
The board is considering the project because the present terminal was built in 1948 and won’t be able to handle growing passenger loads, according to consultants who have worked on airports in other cities, including Wichita’s, which opened in 2015.
Consultants have proposed lopping off the fourth floor of the proposed Des Moines terminal building that would feature an expandable baggage area, restaurants and shops within view of the security lanes, and a bigger security area than the current terminal has. Rental cars would shift to the south side of the airport grounds, allowing the airport to cut a level off the proposed addition to the parking ramps. That knocked the ramp cost from $31 million to $17 million. It will cost $18 million to move the rental car operation to a new facility.