Demolition, site work and new construction of a transportation facility in Des Moines, Iowa. Design plans call for the construction of a transportation facility.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/des-moines-polk-county/2023/09/01/des-moines-airport-seeking-bond-issue-polk-county-board-of-supervisors-terminal-expansion/70738421007/ 2023/09/01 Des Moines International Airport is seeking issuance of up to $350 million in bonds from Polk County to expand and ultimately replace its cramped and aging terminal, the county Board of Supervisors announced Friday. The board said in a news release it plans to take public comment on the proposal at its Tuesday meeting before deciding Sept. 19 whether to put the bond issue before voters on the Nov. 7 ballot. The Des Moines Airport Authority Board voted in July to set the budget for the first phase of the new terminal at $445.4 million. The project has faced construction cost increases -- up from an estimate of $411 million in August 2022. Airport Executive Director Kevin Foley told the Des Moines Register on Friday the bonds are "not the only path forward but they're the cheapest interest rate moving forward." Foley said the general obligation bonds the county can issue, like the aviation revenue bonds the airport can authorize, both have fixed interest rates, but the county's would be lower. If voters in November approve the proposed bond issue, leveraging the county's bond rating would save up to $70 million over the life of the loan, "ensuring the airport remains operationally competitive with existing and prospective airlines," according to the supervisors' news release. Foley said the airport is continuing to look at competitive revenue sources and the bonds would be used to cover the remainder of the cost. He said the bonds would only be for the for the first phase of the terminal. The total cost of the terminal, with second and third phases, has been estimated to possibly reach $770 million, and as of February, the airport had secured about $365 million in funding. Foley said the airport would be responsible for repayment of the bonds through revenue from airport operations, and the county would not have to raise taxes if the bond issue were to be approved. The supervisors' meeting is set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Polk County Administration Building, 111 Court Ave. in Des Moines. The airport has been planning the expansion and replacement for several years as growth in passenger traffic outstrips the 75-year-old terminal's capacity, driven in part by the Des Moines' metro's growth, the fastest of any major city in the Midwest. A record 2.9 million passengers came through the airport in 2019 before the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to airport records. As of December 2022, traffic had bounced back to 2.8 million passengers, and the most recent data from July 2023 shows passenger traffic for the year to date at 11.2% over the same period in 2022. American Airlines has the most passengers in Des Moines, followed by United, Allegiant and Delta airlines, but Southwest Airlines has so far this year seen the biggest percentage increase in its passenger traffic. The proposed terminal is slated for completion in 2026, with the initial phase connecting to the existing terminal. Work already is underway to expand the airport's parking garage. More:Des Moines International Airport to add 1,100 parking spaces in parking garage expansion Foley said design for the terminal is on track and is expected to be finished in April. _________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.businessrecord.com/airport-update-board-to-consider-initial-bid-package-next-month-groundbreaking-on-terminal-set-for-october/ The Des Moines International Airport Authority board of directors will consider initial bids for the airport improvement project at its meeting on July 20, with groundbreaking on a new terminal planned for this fall, airport Executive Director Kevin Foley said. The airport’s architectural team presented the first 30% of the design of the terminal to the board recently, and the project’s construction management at-risk team opened those bids and will bring a “gross maximum price” for that piece of design to the board for its consideration at the July 20 meeting. It’s the latest step in the approximately $570 million project that includes the construction of a new terminal and the expansion of the parking garage. The airport has struggled with capacity to handle increased air travel, which hit record levels in Des Moines in 2019, and officials say a new terminal and related improvements are an integral component to continuing the economic development momentum the region has seen in recent years. A report last fall from the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aviation showed that the Des Moines airport generates about $752 million a year in economic activity for the state. The Business Record sat down with Foley recently to discuss the project and get an update on its progress, both on construction and in funding. Construction That first bid package to be considered by the board next month includes sitework, foundation, utilities and steelwork. There will be a total of five bid packages for phase one of the project, with all bids for the first phase being in by September 2024. Foley said a groundbreaking consisting of primarily sitework is planned for this October. Completion of the new terminal is planned for the fall of 2026. Once the move into the new terminal is complete, demolition of the existing terminal will begin. Work on the 1,100-space expansion of the airport’s parking garage is underway, with completion scheduled for spring 2025. Funding The airport continues to see a funding gap of about $54 million for the project, Foley said. He said he’s hopeful some of that gap can be closed with additional funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law. “We still have three years to apply for funds,” Foley said. The airport has $235 million in funding for the project. That includes a mix of state funding, federal Airport Improvement Program funds and money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. The airport has also reached agreement with 20 regional communities with commitments for $28.6 million. Prairie Meadows has also committed $5 million to the project, Foley said. The airport is also planning to bond $300 million. It is considering bonding an additional estimated $54 million to cover the gap in funding if no other sources of funding can be found, Foley said. “We’ve pretty much exhausted most of those,” he said. “We’re still investigating any avenue that’s available to us.” The funding challenge has been eased a bit with inflation at just over 4%, down from more than 8.5% a year ago, Foley said. “At that 8% to maybe 9% we were almost going backwards,” he said. “It was rising so fast we couldn’t collect funds fast enough. So as it comes down I’m feeling much better. I’m confident we can see our way clearer to complete the project.” Even with lower inflation, if the airport has to bond that $54 million, it would leave the airport’s budget in a pinch, Foley said. “It would be very tight,” he said. “Do I think the airport will function and remain safe? Absolutely. We wouldn’t be moving forward if we didn’t think it couldn’t be handled.” If the decision is made to bond that additional $54 million, the hope would be to delay that until interest rates fall further, Foley said. He said passengers at the airport should expect to see disruptions as work continues. “Things are going to be changing rapidly,” Foley said. “There’s going to be constant change in movement to accommodate the construction and to minimize the impact on passengers. “There’s going to be turmoil here, and we’re going to minimize it to the best of our ability, but there’s going to be turmoil here.” __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2022/08/23/des-moines-city-council-arpa-funds-international-airport-grubb-ymca/7865977001/ Des Moines International Airport plans gain altitude Des Moines will spend $5 million in ARPA funds on construction of a new terminal at the Des Moines International Airport. The city plans to spend $5 million more on the project. With construction costs rising the airport's board of directors is planning to build its new terminal in phases. The first phase would cost an estimated $411 million. More:To cut costs, Des Moines International Airport considers phased approach to its new terminal In March the airport was awarded $59 million in ARPA funds awarded to Iowa for the project. At that time the airport's board was about 40% of the way to closing a $300 million funding gap so that construction could begin. Kevin Foley, Des Moines International Airport executive director, raised $28.7 million of $34.3 million he asked for from about 30 central Iowa cities and counties whose residents most often use the airport. _______________________________________________________________________ https://www.enr.com/articles/54524-hntb-designing-770m-des-moines-international-airport-terminal - Des Moines International Airport is preparing to construct a new terminal to replace its existing building in a phased project estimated to cost as much as $769.8 million. The airport is the largest in Iowa. Its current 12-gate terminal building dates to 1948, and with the airport projecting demand for 17 gates by 2032 and 19 by 2042, airport leaders say it has reached the end of its useful life. The plan calls for a three-phase project to break up costs and allow the first phase of work to fit current available funding while still addressing increased capacity needs. The airport has been working with Anser Advisory LLC to act as the owner's representative on the project. In April, the Des Moines Airport Authority board of directors awarded a design services contract to Kansas City, Mo.-based HNTB Corp. Seven firms submitted for the job, and design firms Corgan and Fentress Architects were also interviewed, airport authority records show. HNTB had previously worked with the airport on a planning study for the new terminal. Tom Rossbach, HNTB's aviation architecture senior director and project manager for the Des Moines airport contract, said in a statement that he expects the design "will be transformational in terms of passenger experience, efficiency and flexibility." The airport issued an RFQ for a construction manager at-risk in April and has since interviewed three firms. Kayla Kovarna, a spokesperson for the airport, says the board is scheduled to select the construction manager at their Aug. 9 meeting. That first phase would include the construction of a new terminal with five gates, plus a central energy plant, offices and a pedestrian bridge to the parking garage. It would also include additional airside and landside infrastructure improvements, for a total estimated cost of $411.4 million. The plans then call for a northward expansion adding four gates to the concourse at an estimated cost of $87.8 million, and a southward expansion adding eight gates. That final phase would also include demolition of the current terminal, with a total cost estimated at $233.9 million. Work is not expected to break ground until 2024 at the earliest, Kovarna says. If it does, planning documents indicate the first portion could be completed in 2026 and all three phases by early 2030. The airport has also developed a concept for another possible phase of work to further expand the terminal concourse up to 22 gates as its ultimate buildout. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/article/21272087/available-funding-for-airport-modernization-projects-exceeds-1t - The Des Moines Airport Authority is developing a multi-phase plan to modernize the Des Moines International Airport (DSM), the first of which is expected to cost $448.1 million. The airport has already exceeded its long-term passenger forecast, and it has become especially congested under the weight of recent population growth. According to the Authority, DSM needs 17 new gates by 2032 to meet the next wave of airport traffic forecasts. That need has inspired the plan to modernize the airport with an entirely new terminal. Plans call to construct a new terminal airport include 14 gates to be built on the east side of the existing terminal. As of November 19, 2019, the project is in planning and in the process of obtaining funds. Information regarding design team has not been released. Construction timeline anticipated to commence in 2022. *Project information, including timeline and contacts, has been obtained through public sources. The content management team continues to pursue additional details; however, the contact(s) listed have yet to disclose or confirm any information. Inquiries should be directed to the contact(s) listed. As of August 28, 2023, no new information available