The Sioux Falls Regional Airport Authority is seeking bids this month for an estimated $7 million project that will add about 20,000 square feet and remodel 20,000 feet of existing space.

 

"The real objective, first and foremost, was to accommodate the Sioux Falls traveler in a better fashion," said Chris Schiltz, president of Koch Hazard, the project's architectural firm.

 

From the outside of the building, through the lobby and on to baggage handling, the remodeling "is really process-oriented" to clear bottlenecks, increase usable space and speed up ticketing and baggage handling, he said.

 

Travelers will notice a new canopy at the front of the terminal, an expanded ticket lobby with luggage screening behind new ticket counters, flat screens offering flight information, new electronic kiosks separated from the ticket counters, and a new gift shop, Schiltz said.

 

"The real key to this is back of the house," he added, where a new baggage handling system will be in place.

 

In 1970, 185,000 people went through the Costello Terminal, according to Hal Wick, Airport Authority chairman. By 1990, it had climbed to 232,000, and in 2007, it hit a high of 396,000.

 

Airport officials had anticipated exceeding 400,000 last year before travel tailed off in September. The year ended with 373,000 travelers.

 

"You should see this place at 6:30 or 7 a.m. when the terminal is full and people are checking in for flights. There is no room," Wick said.

 

The remodeling project begins with an asbestos study, to be complete by Jan. 12.

 

Schiltz says it will show a modest need for abatement, mostly around piping associated with the mechanical system, which also is being replaced.

 

Once remodeling begins, Airport General Manager Mike Marnach estimates it will take 16 months to complete.

 

"Remodeling has some disruption," he said. "But the public looks on it as a temporary inconvenience. In all my years here, with all our projects, I've never had much negative comment from the public. They understand we're trying to improve things."

 

The last notable remodeling at the terminal took place about six years ago, when offices for U.S. Customs, an expanded car rental counter and a third baggage carousel were added.

 

Marnach said money for the remodeling will come from several years' worth of the tax deduction the airport annually takes for accumulated depreciation of its assets.

 

That deduction usually is about $2 million a year, he said.

 

Both Marnach and Wick said this month is an especially good time to solicit bids because the dramatic slowdown in the U.S. economy is finally having an effect on the local construction industry.

 

Many firms from South Dakota and the region are interested in submitting bids, Wick said.

 

In addition to improving travel, the project when complete will enhance travelers' initial impression of Sioux Falls, Wick said.

 

Beyond that, the boost to the construction industry "helps our economy at a time when we need to make jobs," he said.

 

"We're doing this at the right time. It's good for the economy, good for the airport and good for the traveling public."

 

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