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July 22, 2010 St. Louis American By Rebecca S. Rivas |
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Kwame to manage 'airport experience' - $50 million interior renovation to begin this fall
Photo by Wiley Price
Tony Thompson, president and CEO of Kwame Building Group looks over designs for interior renovations at Lambert St. Louis International Airport with airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge.
Travelers have choices. And they are particularly choosey in this penny-pinching era.
Perhaps an airport with four-foot pendant lights floating over fields of light-colored ceramic tile would not be a deciding factor in choosing Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. But when travelers come to Lambert, airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge hopes they experience “a very historic terminal that has been renovated in style to meet the consumer’s expectations,” she said. Hamm-Niebruegge is the first female airport director in the history of Lambert Airport, and one of only a few in the entire nation. This fall, Kwame Building Group will begin a $50-million interior renovation, the airport’s largest interior renovation in its history.
For Kwame, this will add to more than a decade of expanding and enhancing the airport.
Kwame, a minority-owned firm, was a joint venture partner in the seven-year, $1.8 billion airport expansion, and the largest public works project in St. Louis history. Kwame was the first minority-owned company to have a lead role on a major Lambert–St. Louis International Airport project.
This two-year renovation plan is the latest phase of the Airport Experience Program, which will touch up Lambert’s Terminal 1, designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki (1956), and Concourses A and C.
“The look and feel of the airport will be brighter, more welcoming, and have a modern up-to-date appearance,” said Anthony Thompson, CEO and founder of Kwame.
Kwame’s business participation goal for the project is 25 percent minority business enterprise and five percent women business enterprise. Workforce participation goals are 15 percent apprenticeship, 25 percent minority, five percent women, and 20 percent city residents.
This portion of the project will employ an average of 40-50 skilled workers, Thompson said.
Phase 2
In Concourse A and C, the entire interior will be painted a light color. The existing black light bands and message boards in the public corridors will be removed and replaced with four-foot hanging pendant lights that will appear to float in space. The carpet in the corridors will be replaced with light-colored ceramic tile with a repeating pattern of dark rectangular accent tiles.
There will be all new bright interior signage and new energy-efficient lamps. Some seating at the gates will be reupholstered, and outdated electrical panels will be replaced throughout the concourses.
And, the restrooms will be completely redone. The project is currently out for bid (bid date is July 20, 2010) through the Board of Public Service.
The overall renovations of Concourse A and C will be completed one year after the construction notice-to-proceed is given. Thompson anticipates that construction will start January 2011.
Funding
Airport bonds issued in 2009 will fund the project. Various sources including landing fees, airline terminal rates, and passenger facility charges and other airport revenues will help pay the bonds off.
The City of St. Louis sold the airport bonds in 2009, three months prior to American Airline’s decision to restructure its business model, which will result in the loss of daily flights at Lambert later this year. Although the situation presents a challenge to the airport, the bond funds cannot be used for any other purpose other than capital improvement projects specified in the bond issue. Plus, Lambert’s plan to expand current air service and attract new airline service requires a major investment to upgrade the passenger experience in the airport’s aging facilities, airport officials said.
History of the Airport Experience Program
The Airport Experience Program began in late 2005, when a commissioned task force of design and aviation experts was given the task of creating a new vision for the airport. The idea was to define and develop a series of projects that focused on enhancing the passenger experience. The plan moved from concepts to actual construction in the summer of 2008 with the start of “Phase 1” projects, which included the dome restoration and a new baggage system for Terminal 1. The current “Phase 2” projects are a continuation of this original plan that began in 2005.
The most complicated part of the project is performing the work without impacting the passengers and the airlines operation, Thompson said. Much of the work will be done in the overnight hours or behind temporary construction walls.
At the end of the day, Hamm-Niebruegge would like passengers to enjoy their experience in St. Louis with “clean and bright restroom facilities to use throughout the terminal and concourses, easy checkpoint access, a variety of art to view and enjoy and plenty of time to visit shops and restaurants, whatever their choice may be.”
St. Louis American ©July 2010
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