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Council OKs extending airport lease to 2070 to unlock $72 million in private investment
Summary
Council approved a 25‑year extension of the Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport lease to 2070 to allow private operators to make multimillion‑dollar facility investments. Airport authority leaders said the extension was needed to secure $42M and $30M improvements from two tenants.
The Birmingham City Council voted Aug. 12 to approve a second amendment extending the lease assignment and operating agreement with the Birmingham Airport Authority by 25 years, moving the lease’s expiration from Sept. 15, 2045 to Sept. 15, 2070.
Ron Matthew, chief executive of the Airport Authority, told the council that the extension is necessary to secure two pending private investments into the airport: Atlantic Aviation (about $42 million in improvements) and another tenant planning roughly $30 million. “They need 30 years to do that, and we only have 20 years left on our lease,” Matthew said, explaining the urgency of the extension.
Council members asked for better information flow between the authority and the council and requested a cleaned‑up agreement that removes obsolete language. Councilor Williams questioned why the extension was needed when the current lease runs through 2045; Matthew replied that the longer lease term enables large capital projects and negotiations with third‑party operators.
City staff and authority leaders said the airport has returned to stronger performance and the authority expects further opportunities, including reimagining a warehouse area with the current tenant whose lease expires in 2029. Matthew said a reimagined arrangement for that facility would require longer term commitments from any prospective investor.
Councilor Moore praised the airport authority leadership for improvements to the terminal and for community outreach. City attorneys confirmed the city received a prior payment in 2010 covering multiple lease years for an earlier term; airport officials said any new extension would similarly be addressed under the amendment terms once executed.
The council approved the measure; the city clerk announced the item was approved after an aye/voice vote.
