San Antonio staff recommend Kimley Horn and HOK for airport design work, announce three new Breeze Airways nonstop routes

San Antonio aviation officials on Wednesday asked the City Council to support recommended design contract awards for airfield work and for renovations to Terminals A and B, announced three new Breeze Airways nonstop routes and previewed a pre‑solicitation for a Central Receiving and Distribution Center (CRDC) to centralize deliveries and improve security.

"As we look at our overall platform, we are now at 50 destinations," Jesus, director of airports for the city of San Antonio, told the council during the B session briefing, noting new Breeze Airways nonstops to Raleigh–Durham, Memphis and Pensacola. "We probably have close to a 100 people that travel in and out of San Antonio every day to go to Raleigh Durham."

The briefing covered three procurement actions: a $40,000,000 request‑for‑qualifications (RFQ) for airfield design under the Airport Strategic Infrastructure Program (ASIP) funded by FAA grants and aviation capital funds; a $35,000,000 RFQ for architectural design of Terminals A and B to align those buildings with the design standards used on Terminal C; and a pre‑solicitation for a CRDC, described by staff as an off‑site, sterilized and security‑controlled facility to consolidate concessions and freight deliveries.

Why it matters: The airfield work is preliminary engineering aimed at completing a parallel runway configuration (13R/13L) to increase capacity and reduce operational conflicts with Randolph Air Force Base, steps officials said are needed to support future growth through 2040 and 2050. Terminal A and B renovations are intended to modernize security checkpoints, ticketing, gate hold rooms and concession space so the airport presents a consistent experience across terminals as Terminal C comes online.

Staff recommendations and process: For the airfield RFQ, staff said two finalists were close in evaluation and that Kimley Horn emerged as the recommended respondent after interviews. On the Terminal A/B RFQ, 13 firms responded, eight were interviewed and HOK (Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum) was the recommended firm; staff emphasized they asked firms to present design tiers and that HOK provided several cost tiers for the council to consider.

Council questions and next steps: Council members pressed staff on evaluation details. The chair asked why a firm that led the initial scoring (PGAL) fell in the final ranking; Jesus said interviews probe commitment to San Antonio, staffing and local presence, and can change final scores when a firm’s answers do not match its written submittal. Council member Villagran asked staff to provide the list of interview panelists and scoring details; staff agreed to follow up.

On the CRDC, Jesus said the goal is centralizing concessions and other incoming goods so deliveries are sterilized, stored securely and moved into terminals via freight elevators during non‑peak hours. "It's all gonna be sterilized. It's gonna be security controlled," he said, explaining the RFP will require a location within a set radius of the airport and a 10‑year term with a 15‑year renewal option. Staff listed evaluation weights for the CRDC (experience 30 points; project understanding and management 30; pricing 20; local preference 10; veteran‑owned 5; small business prime 5).

Financial and funding context: Staff said the first two solicitations are RFQs and are "federally eligible" for FAA grants; procurement rules and federal funding constraints limit the use of local preference points on RFQs. Troy Litt, the city’s chief financial officer, explained that RFPs (such as the CRDC) are more flexible and can include local and small‑business preference points because they are funded from the city’s operations and maintenance budgets.

Local participation and workforce development: Council members asked about mentor‑protégé and local participation opportunities. Staff said lead teams commonly include local partners (noting WestEast Design Group and CNG Engineering were part of recommended teams) and that the airport has ongoing outreach with local institutions such as UTSA, Trinity and Texas A&M San Antonio to build local capacity.

What comes next: Staff requested council support to advance the recommended awards; they will bring the post‑solicitation contract awards to an A session for final council approval once scoring and contract terms are finalized. Jesus said council can expect additional briefings, including a construction manager‑at‑risk step and further pre‑ and post‑solicitations tied to Terminal C concessions and maintenance, repair and overhaul work. The B session adjourned at 2:49 p.m.; the clerk noted a public comment period is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

Sources: Presentation and council Q&A at the San Antonio City Council B session, Jan. 28, 2026.