First published in the Dec. 24 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority awarded a construction contract for its replacement passenger terminal project on Monday, also sanctioning $55 million for the first phase of the plan and authorizing builders to begin work.
The new replacement terminal will offer the same number of gates as the current terminal — 14 — but will increase from 232,000 square feet to about 355,000 square feet. It will be built at the northeast end of the airport, replacing the almost 100-year-old terminal in the southeast. Officials estimate construction could be completed by 2026.
The BGPAA started the construction bidding process last May to find a company for design and construction services, ultimately settling on Holder, Pankow, TEC, Joint Venture, or HPTJV. Of the competing firms, HPTJV provided the lowest estimated total project cost, and produced the best score during the airport authority’s evaluation process, which analyzed the project timeline, management preparedness and the firm’s “design-build” approach.
The HPTJV team also includes several subcontractors: Corgan, an architectural firm, CannonDesign, a design consultant and Burns & McDonnell, an engineering consultant. “[HPTJV] and Corgan are leading aviation builders and designers in the country with large, complex projects at more than 200 airports across the world. They have completed more than 120 projects together, totaling more than $9.0 billion dollars,” said Nerissa Sugars, BGPAA’s communications director, in a statement.
“This is a milestone for the city of Burbank,” said President Emily Gabel-Luddy, who is one of Burbank’s three representatives on the BGPAA Commission. “Residents have gone down a very long road for this. We have the best possible team we can on this project.”
Burbank voters approved the replacement terminal project in 2016 by passing Measure B, though the construction of a new terminal has become a contentious issue throughout the San Fernando Valley, particularly for those residents who live under the airport’s flightpaths, or near runways.
U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, who represents the San Fernando Valley, spoke out against the project in October, saying progress should be halted until the FAA addresses noise and environmental impacts on the community.
The city of Los Angeles is suing the Federal Aviation Administration, arguing that its environmental review of the terminal project did not consider designs that could have a lesser impact on the surrounding community.
Officials from the airport authority say the new terminal is necessary in order to resolve longstanding safety and accessibility issues with the current terminal.
