City presents new Clearwater Airpark terminal design; construction expected to start late summer

City staff and the design team for America Infrastructure Development presented concept designs and a tentative procurement schedule for a new general aviation terminal at Clearwater Airpark during the April 14 work session.

Mike McDonald, marine and aviation director, said city staff and airport tenant FlyUSA selected AID to design the new terminal through a competitive process. Chip Hayward, AID vice president of architecture, and Kyle Holly, AID engineer of record, described a two-story terminal concept centered on a large glass lobby with a suspended scaled aircraft display, pilot lounge, flight-training offices, a community meeting room that overlooks the lobby and an FBO (fixed-base operator) operations area.

Hayward showed renderings illustrating a glazed central lobby (roof height roughly 40 feet), glulam beams, a fabric canopy at the public drop-off, a trellis/event court adjacent to the roundabout and a new parking layout with event space. Interior finishes under consideration include insulated glass, standing-seam metal roofing, wood tones, stainless-steel cable railings and illuminated graphic features in restrooms and lobby areas. The architect said the suspended plane will be a scaled exhibit rather than a full-size aircraft.

Kyle Holly explained that terminal site work ties to an upcoming grant-funded taxiway project; stormwater improvements must be coordinated so the two projects’ paving and drainage are not in conflict. Holly said the public-bid package will be structured with additive alternates for the taxiway work so the city can award the maximum number of alternates offered if favorable bids arrive.

On schedule, staff said design documents are expected to be issued for bid in mid-to-late May; the bidding window will run about 60 days with approximately 30 days for review, and construction is anticipated to start in late August or early September. The team estimated a construction duration of roughly 18 months, subject to bid results and final phasing.

Council members and staff praised the design and asked about operational details including the degree of airport functionality the site generator will support during outages. Mike McDonald said the FDOT grant item under consideration would fund a generator to support critical airport operations (fueling and selected systems) during extended outages; final scope for runway lighting or additional systems will be determined during generator design.

Ending

Designers described the terminal as a gateway project that seeks to reflect city character and provide public meeting space, pilot services, flight training offices and room for future development at the drop-off/trellis area. Staff said they would return with a finalized bid package, and noted coordination of stormwater and taxiway work is essential to the project schedule.