A multimillion-dollar airport terminal at Presque Isle International Airport has been in the works since June 2023, and site work is expected to start this year.
The new terminal will be nearly three times the size of the existing building, a former fire station that was built 70 years ago.
The entire project carries a total price tag of $52.6 million. The new terminal alone is now projected to cost $38 million, up from an original estimate of $30 million due to security requirements.
But there’s more than a building: groundwork, utilities and a new apron — where airplanes park — will cost roughly $14 million more, resulting in the higher total project cost. Some local residents have questioned where the money will come from.
Grants of $40.5 million will cover most of the total cost, Airport Director Scott Wardwell said.
Funding has included $38.6 million through the Federal Aviation Administration. Included in that amount was $20.46 million in congressionally directed spending secured by Sen. Susan M. Collins. The Northern Border Regional Commission awarded a $1 million grant and the Maine Department of Transportation contributed about $1 million, according to city records.
That leaves $12.1 million of the price tag that remains to be funded, or 21 percent.
“About 21 percent of the cost of the terminal is not [Federal Aviation Administration] eligible,” Wardwell told Presque Isle city councilors in November. “The good news is that a lot of the areas that aren’t FAA eligible are areas that are occupied by the tenants of the passenger terminal.”
To cover that remaining amount, the city, on behalf of the airport, will seek a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Councilors voted Wednesday at a regular meeting to apply for the loan, which could be reduced by future grant awards and will be payable once the terminal is finished. There was no discussion on the matter, and a public hearing at the meeting drew no comments.
The loan would be repaid entirely with rental income from tenants, which include JetBlue, the Transportation Security Administration and car rental companies, with no portion coming from taxpayers, Wardwell said.
“The rents will not be determined until all grant opportunities have been exhausted,” he said.
FAA grant funding typically covers things related to airport safety, capacity, security and environmental concerns, according to the administration’s Airport Improvement Program guidelines. Parts of a terminal that aren’t eligible for funding include office space, maintenance equipment and vehicles, landscaping and improvements for commercial enterprises, such as rental car companies housed in a terminal.
Here’s a breakdown of each part of the total $52.6 million project, based on city records and information Wardwell provided to city councilors, which he shared with The County.
Project design and engineering. Cost: $4.7 million. Engineering firm Hoyle Tanner of Manchester, New Hampshire, whose Maine office is in Yarmouth, completed the airport design.
City leaders had authorized spending about $1.3 million on the terminal design by June 2023, having committed to a total of $2.2 million for design work. In December 2023 the council authorized paying a final $901,100 to complete planning and engineering.
The terminal building. Cost: $38.5 million. The city awarded the construction contract in November to A/Z Corporation, a subsidiary of Cianbro Corp. of Pittsfield, which submitted the lowest bid.
The building will include a check-in lobby, baggage handling area, passenger screening checkpoint, secure holding rooms and concessions, along with tenant spaces, the city’s June 7 bid request stated.
The hike from the original estimate of $30 million is due to additional space for the Transportation Security Administration and a post-security waiting area, Wardwell said.
Construction of the 35,000-square-foot building is expected to take 18 months, he said.
Site and utilities work. Cost: $5.2 million. The city awarded the bid in November to Soderberg Construction of Caribou.
The work will include “the construction of roadways, parking lots, aircraft apron, drainage and underground utilities” at the site of the new terminal building, according to the city’s request for proposals, also dated June 7.
Aircraft parking apron. Cost: $4.3 million. Soderberg Construction will also build the 14,500-square-foot apron adjacent to the terminal building.
The work will involve excavation and groundwork, new asphalt pavement and underground drainage, along with above-ground necessities like lights, signs and pavement markings.
