After slightly more than a year of service from United Express, operated by SkyWest Airlines, City officials have begun the renovation and ground-clearing process preliminary to the construction of a new airport terminal.
The Prescott City Council approved a $58,350 contract with Ironwood Construction (dba Catclaw Contractors), to demolish and remove hangars and shade structures adjacent to the existing 1940s-era airport terminal.
Currently located at 6500 MacCurdy Lane in northeast Prescott, the existing terminal will be replaced by a multimillion dollar building and road system in planning stages for the past several months.
Prescott Regional Airport Director Robin Sobotta and her team have worked with Fann Contracting, a local company, and Willmeng Construction, a Phoenix-based firm, to initiate construction. Because the federal grant expected from the Federal Aviation Administration had not yet arrived, City officials during an afternoon study session on Sept. 24 decided to postpone official groundbreaking until the time when the FAA grant had been received. Sobotta indicated a new groundbreaking date will be announced shortly.
Estimated cost for the new terminal is close to $16.2 million, said Krista Miller, airport management analyst. That includes design, preconstruction services, construction and reimbursable sponsor administration time.
The City of Prescott already has a commitment of $1 million from the state of Arizona. The City also has made a commitment of $3.5 million. The Federal Aviation Authority has not yet announced how much it will give to cover construction costs.
As of late August, the airport had seen a record-breaking passenger count of 53,614 passengers.
Sobotta said the airline service provided by United Express/SkyWest Airlines has an average load factor of 77%. Currently, nonstop flights to and from Prescott are to Los Angeles and Denver.
It is anticipated the new terminal will be functioning in late 2020.
