Federal grants could revive Milwaukee airport's $80M international terminal project – Milwaukee Business Journal – The Business Journals
Listen to this article 3 min
Milwaukee County’s pursuit of more federal grants will include applying later this year for money to build a new international terminal at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
That project has been in the works since about 2016 and was preparing to take off in early 2020. It was shelved after the Covid-19 pandemic quashed the travel industry. If Milwaukee County can secure federal construction grants next year, it could mean more international flights into and out of Mitchell airport as early as 2026 or 2027.
The international terminal is among the projects Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley highlighted in his March 19 State of the County speech. Crowley after the speech said officials are considering more opportunities to seek and spend federal grant money on county programs and projects.
“There’s more money now within those programs, but there’s also new (federal funding) programs we can identify,” Crowley said. “We are still in the process and continue to have those conversations about what dollars we can apply for and bring back to the residents we represent.”
One of those new grant programs was included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to pay for airport terminal construction. Milwaukee County airport director Brian Dranzik expected an application later this year to compete for funding for Mitchell’s international terminal.
“Hopefully we get that award next year, and hopefully we get enough funds to then actually bring that project along,” he said.
The project was shovel-ready at the end of 2020, Dranzik said. If a federal grant is secured, work could start in 2025 or 2026. The project would take about two years to complete after construction starts, he said.
Milwaukee County in 2020 had anticipated the project would cost about $55 million and budgeted money that year and in previous years for its construction. Inflation has since increased the price to more than $80 million, Dranzik said.
“That’s why we’re looking for some additional federal funds to help support that need,” he said.
The airport also will likely need to return to the Milwaukee County Board to extend the local funding that has already been approved for the terminal, Dranzik said.
The existing Concourse E at Mitchell Airport would be demolished to clear space for the new terminal. That concourse is currently closed and not in use.
Especially around spring break, Dranzik said, Mitchell hosts chartered international planes to destinations such as Cancun, Cabo San Lucas or Jamaica, for example. But it doesn’t have regular service to those destinations.
“What we’ve seen from other cities like Minneapolis is they were very similar to Milwaukee, having that charter base, but they invested in their infrastructure, and then they got regular service,” he said. “We’re hoping to do the same thing.”
The new terminal would remove the need to tow planes that land at Mitchell’s separate international arrival building back to the main terminal, Dranzik said. Removing that step would save airlines time and labor, he said.
Real Estate Awards
Celebrating 2024's Real Estate Award winners. ***TICKETS WILL BECOME AVAILABLE ON MONDAY, MARCH 25.
Best Places to Work – 2024
If your company offers employees a great work-life balance with substantial perks and stands above the rest in employee satisfaction, it could be one of the Best Places to Work in greater Milwaukee.
© 2023 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 24, 2023) and Privacy Policy (updated December 19, 2023). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American CityBusiness Journals.
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
Milwaukee County’s pursuit of more federal grants will include applying later this year for money to build a new international terminal at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
That project has been in the works since about 2016 and was preparing to take off in early 2020. It was shelved after the Covid-19 pandemic quashed the travel industry. If Milwaukee County can secure federal construction grants next year, it could mean more international flights into and out of Mitchell airport as early as 2026 or 2027.
The international terminal is among the projects Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley highlighted in his March 19 State of the County speech. Crowley after the speech said officials are considering more opportunities to seek and spend federal grant money on county programs and projects.
“There’s more money now within those programs, but there’s also new (federal funding) programs we can identify,” Crowley said. “We are still in the process and continue to have those conversations about what dollars we can apply for and bring back to the residents we represent.”
One of those new grant programs was included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to pay for airport terminal construction. Milwaukee County airport director Brian Dranzik expected an application later this year to compete for funding for Mitchell’s international terminal.
“Hopefully we get that award next year, and hopefully we get enough funds to then actually bring that project along,” he said.
The project was shovel-ready at the end of 2020, Dranzik said. If a federal grant is secured, work could start in 2025 or 2026. The project would take about two years to complete after construction starts, he said.
Milwaukee County in 2020 had anticipated the project would cost about $55 million and budgeted money that year and in previous years for its construction. Inflation has since increased the price to more than $80 million, Dranzik said.
“That’s why we’re looking for some additional federal funds to help support that need,” he said.
The airport also will likely need to return to the Milwaukee County Board to extend the local funding that has already been approved for the terminal, Dranzik said.
The existing Concourse E at Mitchell Airport would be demolished to clear space for the new terminal. That concourse is currently closed and not in use.
Especially around spring break, Dranzik said, Mitchell hosts chartered international planes to destinations such as Cancun, Cabo San Lucas or Jamaica, for example. But it doesn’t have regular service to those destinations.
“What we’ve seen from other cities like Minneapolis is they were very similar to Milwaukee, having that charter base, but they invested in their infrastructure, and then they got regular service,” he said. “We’re hoping to do the same thing.”
The new terminal would remove the need to tow planes that land at Mitchell’s separate international arrival building back to the main terminal, Dranzik said. Removing that step would save airlines time and labor, he said.
Real Estate Awards
Celebrating 2024's Real Estate Award winners. ***TICKETS WILL BECOME AVAILABLE ON MONDAY, MARCH 25.
Best Places to Work – 2024
If your company offers employees a great work-life balance with substantial perks and stands above the rest in employee satisfaction, it could be one of the Best Places to Work in greater Milwaukee.
© 2023 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 24, 2023) and Privacy Policy (updated December 19, 2023). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American CityBusiness Journals.
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
