The public-private partnership assembled with the goal of revitalizing LaGuardia (LGA) is official.
LaGuardia Gateway Partners, a consortium of Vantage Airport Group, Skanska and Meridiam, has signed a lease agreement with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and achieved financing necessary for the redevelopment of LGA’s Central Terminal B.
The lease began June 1 and continues through 2050.
“Today is a milestone step forward for the project, the broader New York community and the nation,” says Stewart Steeves, CEO of LaGuardia Gateway Partners. “With the beginning of this lease, our team brings its award-winning experience to the project and will deliver a sustainably-designed, state-of-the-art facility.”
The project includes a new 35-gate Terminal B, Central Hall and West Garage along with work on related roadways and supporting infrastructure. The existing terminal will remain operational during the $4 billion project, one of the largest in the U.S. for new transportation infrastructure, according to company officials.
It will feature dual pedestrian bridges spanning active aircraft taxi lanes that connect the terminal to two island concourses. According to LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the islands and bridges will allow for improved airline circulation and gate flexibility, which are designed to reduce delays. Food and retail options will include both regional and national offerings and the terminal will be flooded with natural light and built with spacious and plentiful waiting areas and seating.
The project is expected to result in $1.3 billion in wages and $5.2 billion in regional economic activity, according to the PANYNJ. Certain aspects of the project are expected to be finished by 2018, with the upgrade completed in its entirety by 2022.
SkanskaWalsh was selected as the design/build joint venture for the LGA project. HOK and WSP|Parsons Brinkerhoff are working on design and Vantage Airport Group will manage terminal operations.
Talk of renovating LGA has been going on for years, but it’s been a particularly hot-button issue since 2014, when Vice President Joe Biden described the airport as one that might be expected in a third world country. Gov. Andrew Cuomo echoed the sentiments in his State of the State address that year, calling it “a disgrace” that it ranked as one of the worst airports in America.
Cuomo unveiled his vision for LGA, which closely mirrors the LaGuardia Gateway Partners plan, in June 2015 when he announced that the airport would be transformed into a “globally-renowned, 21st century airport that is worthy of the city and state of New York.”
Steeves says that the consortium is ready to make that happen.
“LaGuardia Gateway Partners is working with the Port Authority to realize Gov. Cuomo’s vision for a new LaGuardia,” he says. “We will build and operate a facility that New Yorkers can be proud of.”
