Gov. Cuomo announces $22 million makeover for Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport

Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport on Thursday to announce a $22 million expansion which would nearly double the facility's size.

Additions include a 5,000 square-foot federal customs facility to allow the airport to receive international flights, as well as six new gates at the airport, Cuomo said.

The six new gates would more than double the gates the airport currently provides.

"Ithaca deserves an airport that is the heart of a re-emerging economy," Cuomo said. "Ithaca deserves an airport that will fuel the economic growth and fuel the perception and reality that you are the place for the future... The new airport will offer a world-class passenger experience."

The state is awarding $14.2 million to the airport so it can carry out a $22 million makeover. In addition, a State Department of Transportation maintenance facility, located on 7.6 acres of property south of Cayuga Lake and the Ithaca Farmers Market, will be moved to the new airport site.

Among the changes at the airport are an expansion of the ticket counter, security upgrades, three new boarding bridges, bringing the total to four; a new 4,000 square foot dining area replacing the antiquated concessions, and a new welcome sign.

There will be a reconfiguration of the security checkpoint and relocation of TSA office space as part of a 7,500-square-foot expansion of the passenger hold room, according to a press release from the governor's office. The airline office space will be reconfigured and the baggage screening space will be expanded as part of a 2,500-square-foot addition on the east side.

Technology upgrades will include high-speed WiFi, Bluetooth connectivity and additional charging ports and outlets, according to the governor's office. A separate bus lane and a wind-resistant waiting area for buses, taxis and hotel shuttles will be installed.

Other installations include new plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, mechanical and electrical systems.

The makeover will drastically change the facility, which hasn't been updated in 25 years, according to Cuomo.

"It doesn't have overwhelming charisma," Cuomo said about the current state of the airport, "but it has character."

Resources that are outdated in the airport include passenger screening equipment not meeting post-9/11 requirements.

Consistent with the state's historic energy agenda, the airport will be completely solar-powered, using geothermal heat pumps to reduce costs, the governor said.

The airport will save $50,000 by being powered by solar energy, officials said.

"This is not a proposal, it's not a plan, it's not a we hope, it's not a maybe some day," Cuomo said about the improvements to the airport. "We are doing it and we are doing it now. It is a reality."

As part of the redevelopment of the airport, the county will develop a 53-acre Airport Logistics Park on Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport property, which will feature the new State Department of Transportation maintenance facility.

"(The current location) is interrupting the hiking and biking trail and it's interrupting all of the redevelopment of the corridor," Cuomo said. "It makes no sense to have a DOT facility on prime real estate on the waterfront. Sometimes, you need common sense and you need creativity."

The waterfront property will be made available for commercial development.

"If you look at all of the great redevelopments, water is a magnet for people," Cuomo said. "It's an attractant. They like to be near the water — the feeling, the energy — just as the proximity to the asset."

In an interview, Mayor Svante Myrick said the improvements to the airport would make Ithaca even more international in character than it currently is.

While the city's character has been open to different cultures, sub-optimal infrastructure was a barrier between Ithaca and the outside world, Myrick said. Once the updates to the airport are complete, the city will become richer not just economically, but culturally as well.

"Letting people go through customs really opens doors," Myrick said.

The improvements to the airport would provide much help to an effort that's being undertaken to attract visitors from China. With a 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 9 event titled "It's Your Business: Welcoming China to Ithaca," the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce is preparing county residents to engage with and welcome Chinese travelers.

In addition, the new resources would help Tompkins County's broad international community, which includes venture capitalists and investors from China, as well as others who have ties or choose to do business in Tompkins County, said Michael Stamm, president of Tompkins County Area Development.

"Once we have the customs facility, investors can fly directly from China," Stamm said.

Stamm also said relocation of the DOT facility and the redevelopment of the waterfront property, which could be designated for mixed-use housing and retail, would be of great benefit to Ithaca.

Stamm is the current chair of the Air Service Board. TCAD assisted the airport staff with the applications to the state for funding and has also worked with county and city officials on the DOT relocation project.

Prior to announcing the airport project, Cuomo was in Rochester Thursday morning announcing business services company LiveTiles will establish its North American Intelligent User Experience hub in Rochester's High Falls area and will create at least 500 jobs over five years.

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