Sarasota Bradenton International Airport officials to enter talks for terminal expansion
The Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority on Monday ranked DeAngelis Diamond-Magnum Builders as its No. 1 firm for construction of a new concourse and expansion of the current concourse at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.
The expansion, needed to stay ahead of record passenger growth, is projected to cost about $50 million.
Airport officials will now enter into contract negotiations with Sarasota-based DeAngelis Diamond-Magnum Builders, which has a long history of tackling construction projects at SRQ.
If the airport is unable to come to terms with DeAngelis, airport negotiators will move on to second-ranked Beck-Envision of Tampa. Also seeking the contract on Monday was Lakewood Ranch-based Half Acre Construction.
Airport authority members needed five votes to rank the competing firms. In the first two votes, each of the three firms received two votes. The third vote narrowed the field to DeAngelis Diamond-Magnum Builders and Beck-Envision, and a fourth vote returned the same result.
At that point, authority board member Carlos Beruff urged that DeAngelis Diamond - Magnum Builders be ranked No. 1 based on its long tenure of working on projects at SRQ, finally putting an end to the impasse on the fifth vote.
Rick Piccolo, president and CEO of the airport, congratulated the three firms on their competitive proposals.
“I have never seen this kind of closeness before. You all did a great job,” Piccolo said.
Essentially, airport officials want to expand the airline parking apron and add a ground-level passenger terminal.
Passengers would walk along an air conditioned corridor at ground level to their gate and then ascend stairs to their airliner. The project would add passenger gates to the airport, as well as three overnight airline parking spaces.
“The need is for speed,” Piccolo said of expansion of the terminal to prevent passenger growth from overwhelming the airport.
In July, a total of 326,947 passengers passed through the terminal at SRQ, setting an all-time record. There were 122% more passengers this July than in July 2019, when there were 147,068, when the airport had already become one of the fastest-growing in the United States.
Construction dollars for the airport expansion will be included in the airport budget to be presented to the public Sept. 27. The airport is self-sustaining and receives no property taxes.
In other business Monday, the airport authority voted to enter into contract negotiations with Sweet Sparkman Architecture & Interiors of Sarasota for architectural and engineering design, permitting, bidding and construction phase services for a proposed 15th Street airport observation area. The observation area is a joint project with Manatee County government.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 4:01 PM.
