Traverse City Airport seeks county backing for $59.7M bond to fund $112.8M terminal expansion

Traverse City Airport officials and their financial and legal advisers presented Grand Traverse County commissioners with a plan to add a new concourse (4–5 gates in phase 1) and to finance the roughly $112.84 million project through a mix of federal and state grants, airport cash and bond financing.

Airport consultants said anticipated grant funding will cover about $51.7 million of the project and the airport expects to bond roughly $59.7 million (par amount plus issuance costs and capitalized interest bring total uses close to $70.0 million). Airport financial adviser Sean Wall of PFM said the model assumes a 30‑year bond term, a capitalized-interest period during construction and a debt‑service coverage target of about 2.14 times net revenues.

"What we're looking for in this particular project is an expansion or adding an additional concourse with four to five gates," said Kevin, the airport’s lead presenter. He said the project responds to sustained passenger growth and will "modernize and provide better customer experiences." Christina Woodward of Recondo and Associates outlined the revenue mix the model uses, including airline and non‑airline revenues (concessions, parking and rental car fees) and the…