Port Canaveral advances Cruise Terminal 5 expansion, funds early procurement and preconstruction services

Port Canaveral staff updated the commission on a multi-part effort to expand Cruise Terminal 5, recommending a construction‑manager‑at‑risk (CMAR) selection for preconstruction services and authorizing early procurement of long‑lead equipment.

The presentation said the expansion will add roughly 50,000 to 60,000 square feet of new terminal space and produce a terminal in the 40,000–50,000‑square‑foot range once upgrades to the existing building are included. Bill (staff member) told the commission the recommended CMAR team will perform about three months of preconstruction services at roughly $16,000 per month for staff time, constructability reviews, schedule and value engineering reviews and over‑the‑shoulder reviews of the BEA design as it develops. He said the package also includes about $2.5 million in early procurement to buy long‑lead items such as elevators, escalators, HVAC and electrical switchgear so the work can take advantage of a relatively light cruise schedule from June through November.

Why it matters: staff said the expansion is intended to make CT‑5 a stronger fit for lines such as Celebrity, which is now scheduled to call at CT‑5, and to increase the port’s capacity for growth in cruise calls and newer, larger vessels.

Project schedule and scope details provided by staff: BEA Architects are completing design work and 60% drawings were expected mid‑May; staff said the commission could see a foundations package in April and a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) request targeted for the June meeting based on 60% drawings. The expansion was bid as an 18‑month project; staff said they would explore shift work to compress the schedule where feasible.

Staff also briefed the commission on related capital work: a preliminary design and geotechnical program for a replacement subaqueous communications crossing that connects Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Staff said Jacobs Engineering is under consideration for preliminary design; the work requires mobilizing a geotechnical barge to sample the channel and that the new directional bore will be approximately 150 feet deep at the channel’s midline compared with about 85 feet for the existing line.

Smaller capital items discussed included the replacement design for two remaining elevators and an escalator in the parking garage and the planned environmental remediation and partial demolition of obsolete cranes. Staff said DH Griffin will mobilize for the crane remediation work in early March with a planned mid‑April completion date and that contract terms include financial ramifications for missing the completion date.

Staff also reported a grant award to redesign Rodney Ketchum Park boat ramps: a $245,000 Florida Boating Improvement Program grant plus a $105,000 port match to fund a roughly $350,000 design project to correct ramp geometry and improve usability.

Commission action: the items above were brought forward on the consent agenda and approved as part of the consent motion. The commission did not debate the selection details on the record beyond the staff presentation.

Ending: staff said more detailed design milestones and contract documents will return to the commission in coming months as BEA completes drawings and as geotechnical work proceeds.