|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
New Bedford’s airport redesign is about to enter a critical phase.
The long-planned, $70 million project will replace the 75-year-old terminal and control tower at the New Bedford Regional Airport. In the coming months, airport officials plan to hold meetings with city officials and the public to decide what the redesign will actually look like.
The existing terminal building is deteriorating and doesn’t meet modern safety standards, airport officials say. But the project is also about improving an economic asset for the city — it could attract new passenger flights or other aviation businesses, they say.
To attract that new business, the airport needs to look inviting, said Scot Servis, the airport’s manager. The road to the current terminal is confusing, and the terminal itself is visibly dated.
“This airport has kind of fallen apart over the years and fell by the wayside on stuff, and I think some of the business has suffered because of that,” he said.
Airport officials have already completed much of the unglamorous preliminary work, like environmental assessments. The location for the control tower is already decided, and its design will largely be based on “boilerplate” federal specifications.
Designing the terminal comes next. Over the next few months, airport officials plan to start making decisions on the first 10% of the terminal design — the general shape and look of the building, and what amenities it will have.
“The 10% design is really the kind of exciting part of the whole thing,” Servis said.
That’s because this early design phase will decide key questions about the new terminal and tower. How large should the terminal be? Aesthetically, what qualities should it have? Will there be a restaurant attached?
Airport officials plan to gather input this summer from city leaders and the public to answer those questions. They say budget limitations will play a big role in the design. While the vast majority of the project will be paid for with state and federal funds, many discretionary design decisions will fall on the city, which is facing a significant budget shortfall.
Servis said the visual look of the tower and terminal have become an important concern in his meetings with the mayor’s office. The city wants “something that isn’t going to drive the cost up significantly, but is aesthetically pleasing,” he said.
It wouldn’t be the first time Mayor Jon Mitchell has taken a stance on the aesthetics of a state-funded infrastructure project. He has advocated for visually pleasing designs for the South Coast Rail pedestrian bridge and (unsuccessfully) for the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge.
Fennick McCredie Architecture, the firm that designed the pedestrian bridge, will also design the terminal.
Airport officials hope to finish the 10% design this fall, but they say the process could bleed into winter, depending on how outreach goes.
Aspirations for a new aviation experience
The existing terminal was built in 1951, and it’s not in great shape. The building has leaks and its heating system doesn’t work at all in some rooms. The outdated building is “making the maintenance and daily upkeep a costly challenge,” officials have determined.
“We’ve got chairs down there that, I swear, are straight out of the 1950s, when the place was built,” Servis said.
The structure also doesn’t comply with a post-9/11 federal requirement that the control tower and terminal be housed in separate structures.
Cape Air runs flights from the airport to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and Bridgewater State University uses the airport as a base for its flight school. Private jets use the airport on a daily basis, too. A 2019 MassDOT study found the airport generates nearly $30 million in economic output each year. But airport officials say the facility could do much more with a new terminal.
They haven’t decided exactly which types of air travel the new terminal will support, and that’s intentional.
“We want to try to future-proof the design as best we can,” Servis said.
That means making the new building adaptable to many different uses: commercial passenger service, cargo shipping, helicopters for offshore wind projects. The current building is “obsolete” and can’t accommodate those uses, said Matt Provencher, who leads the Airport Commission.
New Bedford airport officials have looked to other projects in the region for inspiration. The new terminal at the Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis, built in 2011, attracted new seasonal flights, Servis said. Tweed New Haven Airport in Connecticut is expanding to accommodate Breeze Airways, a small, budget airline that recently started operating there.
Future technology, like electric planes, could open up opportunities that the city can’t foresee today, Servis said.
Larger airports are pivoting more to long-haul routes, which could create an opening for smaller airports like New Bedford to take on more regional flights, he said. He also said that the country’s shortage of air traffic controllers may lead federal officials to cap the capacity of larger airports. He believes that could give New Bedford the opportunity to take on some flights that currently operate out of Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport.
Airport officials want the new terminal to be at least as big as the current one, so it can include comfortable passenger waiting areas and a security screening area. The parking lot and roadways leading to the terminal need to be easier to navigate, Servis said.
How the project will be funded
Funding constraints are shaping the redesign, even in these early stages.
Airport officials have estimated the project will cost roughly $70 million on the high end, but the final budget depends on design decisions they will soon make.
About 95% of the project cost will be paid by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the FAA, including the tower, airport officials say, with MassDOT being the primary funder of the 95%. The FAA only pays for public spaces, which wouldn’t include a manager’s office, conference room, or rental car area, for example.
MassDOT funding also has limits, Servis said. For example, in other airport redesigns that included a restaurant, the state agreed to pay for the building shell but not the floor or the lighting.
The city will have to take out loans to fund whatever the state and federal governments won’t pay for. The designs will be shaped by the need to limit the local share to a number the City Council is willing to approve, officials said.
It’s not the best time to embark on a big public building project. The city is facing tough choices this year amid a $32 million budget deficit, and it’s a tight year for the state budget.
If the airport generates revenue, that would go toward the loan, Servis said. That means city funds would only go toward the project if the airport budget doesn’t break even.
The airport has needed city funds to stay afloat in recent years — the manager said the facility has about $1.4 million in costs each year but only makes $1 million to $1.2 million in revenue. The city has subsidized the shortfall with taxpayer money. He called it “almost a wash,” though, because the airport also pays the city about $250,000 each year for services like payroll and legal representation.
“We’re trying to get new business, trying to get new hangars built, trying to get people in, that hopefully will change that math,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated June 3 to correct the funding ratio.
Email Grace Ferguson at gferguson@newbedfordlight.org
So let me get this straight…our esteemed mayor has 💰💰💰 to fund an airport that a overwhelmingly vast majority of New Bedford residents don’t use…
But the Mayor is okay with laying off 26 firefighters.
This is NUTS !
A functional airport is critical to the city and region’s economy. In time it will more than pay for itself.
As airport officials begin making decisions about the first phase of a new terminal at New Bedford Regional Airport, the most important objective should be creating a facility that reflects the city’s identity while remaining financially sustainable for decades to come. Although state and federal grants will fund most of the construction, local taxpayers will ultimately bear the costs of operating, maintaining, and upgrading the building. For that reason, the guiding principle should be to build a terminal that is efficient, adaptable, and appropriately scaled rather than larger or more elaborate than current needs justify.
The terminal should be sized for realistic growth over the next twenty years, not for the most optimistic passenger forecasts. A compact facility with room for future expansion is preferable to an oversized building that increases maintenance, utility, and staffing costs. The site plan should preserve opportunities to add gates, passenger amenities, or other facilities later if demand warrants expansion.
Design decisions should emphasize passenger comfort and operational efficiency. Natural light, clear sightlines, intuitive circulation, durable materials, comfortable seating, abundant electrical outlets, reliable Wi-Fi, and clean restrooms will provide more long-term value than expensive architectural features. The building should also incorporate energy-efficient systems, high-quality insulation, and a design that minimizes future operating expenses. Every discretionary feature should be evaluated not only for its construction cost but also for its lifetime maintenance obligations.
At the same time, the terminal should possess a distinct South Coast identity. New Bedford’s maritime heritage, fishing industry, offshore wind economy, and cultural history offer opportunities to create a memorable sense of place without extravagant spending. Local artwork, exhibits, maritime-inspired materials, and thoughtful landscaping can help visitors immediately recognize that they have arrived in New Bedford rather than at a generic regional airport.
Airport officials should also consider including flexible, multi-purpose spaces that can serve community meetings, business gatherings, educational programs, and special events. Such spaces can generate occasional revenue and strengthen the airport’s role as a community asset. Likewise, public observation areas and aviation displays can make the airport a destination for residents and travelers alike.
A restaurant or café would be a worthwhile amenity if designed carefully. Rather than relying solely on passenger traffic, a restaurant accessible from outside the secure area could serve airport employees, residents, and visitors throughout the day. A locally operated establishment would further reinforce the airport’s connection to the community and provide flexibility should future needs change.
Finally, the terminal should be designed with future aviation trends in mind. Space and infrastructure should be reserved for emerging technologies, electric aircraft, expanded charter activity, and business aviation growth, even if such features are not immediately required. Planning for flexibility today will reduce the need for costly modifications tomorrow.
Ultimately, the success of the project will not be measured by the size or architectural extravagance of the terminal, but by its ability to serve passengers efficiently, reflect the character of New Bedford, support economic development, and remain affordable to operate. A well-designed terminal can become both the city’s front door and a lasting civic asset, provided that long-term practicality guides the decisions made during the earliest stages of planning.
The airport has been there for decades, and while it does provides flights to Islands, flight instructions for people that want to learn to fly, it has always been just a play ground for airplane enthusiasts.
You would have thought by now (through private economic development) the city would have tried to bring a freight company in (UPS, Fed Ex, Amazon, etc.), build a warehouse, create some jobs, and maybe take a few tractor trailer trucks off the Routes 195 and 140 (just an example).
With this new development I am sure that on top of what the city continues to give in funding to support the airport (because it does not bring in enough revenue to stand on it’s own), there will be additional funding needed for this new terminal work, and this means more of a burden on the city, especially in a year with such a big budget deficit problem.
I have heard all the stories saying nothing can be done with the airport because years of existing State and Federal liens, but with the city dealing with this budget deficit issue that will continue for years to come, it might be time to decide if the airport is worth pouring more money into when it might never become anything more than a play ground for airplane enthusiasts.
New Bedford needs new leadership, a new direction, and a new vision for the future.
I agree with some of the comments here, I don’t see the airport becoming much better, the road leading into the airport is a dump, they say private jet use is increasing, but there are only a handful based at airport, and with no new businesses or economic growth in New Bedford what’s the chance of that increasing. Looks like this will be another poor investment for the city.