Richmond, Indiana, is asking the federal government to approve a $1.4 million grant to help it build a new terminal building at Richmond Municipal Airport. This is the fifth and final time the airport can apply for the grant.
"The current terminal building is approximately 80 years old, so it's just reached its life expectancy," Airport Manager Rodney Mayse tells WVXU.
The city is applying for $1.4 million from the 2021 federal bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Mayse is optimistic the city will be successful this time around, despite being turned down the first four years it applied for funding. He notes the city already has $760,000 earmarked for the construction.
"Our chances are better than what they have [been] in the past," he says. "We partnered with LWC (an architecture firm in Dayton, Ohio) so we have all of our designs about 70% completed, and we're moving towards a shovel-ready project, which is what the FAA likes to see."
He notes, "Last year we got our terminal [design funding] through the BIL, so we are underway with our terminal design, and so hopefully, with the FAA funding the terminal design, they'll go ahead and fund actual construction."
Mayse doesn't expect to know if the grant request is approved until later this year. The city is looking to put the project out to bid sometime this spring. Mayse says they're hoping the project will come in around $2 million.
The new terminal will have the same square footage as the existing one — around 3,500-square feet — but will be a single story rather than the current two-story building. It will include amenities such as a board room, conference room, after hour access to the building for arriving pilots, and shower facilities.
Built in the mid-1940s, the existing terminal has "significant" age-related issues. Mayse says ongoing maintenance on the facility has become mostly ineffective and it makes more sense to replace it rather than continue investing in the outdated structure.
"The current terminal has deteriorated over time with outdated materials infrastructure that would require an extensive overhaul just to bring it up to the basic code compliance. Space and layout limitations — the design of the old terminal building does not support current passenger flow or accessibility requirements. Retrofitting the existing building would provide limited benefit and flexibility. Because it's a two story, we'd have to put an elevator in so we're ADA compliant. A new terminal building allows for the integration of modern technology, improved energy efficiency [and] sustainable building practices that would be difficult or impossible to implement into current structure," he lists.
There are about 42 aircraft based at Richmond Municipal Airport, and it sees a lot of corporate travel from local companies. Mayse says its a "huge" economic tool for the city when companies are considering whether to locate in Richmond.
According to the last estimate by the state, the airport had about 14,000 operations (aircraft touchdowns) per year. He notes that includes "touch and go" flights where the plane doesn't truly land.
"But it's kind of hard to put an exact number on it because we're an uncontrolled field. A lot of the flights aren't recorded unless they file a flight plan ... but, generally, they can just come and take off and land without having to file anything," he says.
Read more:
