Construction at Ford airport will bring more gates, more parking and a modern look

Tory Richardson, president and CEO of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport, said he is often asked when all the construction will be finished. His answer? Not for a long time.

Richardson was the featured speaker at the Peter F. Secchia Breakfast Lecture February 25 at the L. William Seidman Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

The new president — he's been at the helm for about six months — said in addition to past and current construction to modernize areas of the airport, a new project will begin in April.

The $100 million project will include a 71,000-square-foot expansion at Concourse A with another 20,000 square feet of additional space for concessions. The project will also include eight new gates for a total of 15 gates by 2022.

The Ford airport is the second busiest in the state and has seen 50 percent growth in the number of passengers in just the last few years.

"We are the fastest growing airport in the state with most of that growth coming in the last five years," Richardson said.

The airport sees 140 flights per day, has six major airlines, offers 35 non-stop destinations and services 17 of the top 20 destinations, which include Orlando, Tampa, Denver, New York and Phoenix.

Richardson said a significant investment by Allegiant has allowed the airport to secure new service destinations. He said the evenly spread market share among airlines in Grand Rapids results in healthy competition and lower ticket prices.

Future challenges include a new, relocated air traffic control tower. Its current location is prohibiting plans for additional parking and airline expansion. Richardson said the FAA owns the tower and should pay for its relocation.

"That project could cost $30-60 million," he said. "The FAA doesn't have the funds to even build one tower a year and about 20 are needed at locations around the country. So, we are exploring other options."