Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Int’l Partners With Southwest to Renovate Terminal & Expand Capacity

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) recently completed a $333 million renovation of Terminal 1 to improve the experience for travelers and offer more operational capacity and flexibility. The program, which includes the addition of a new concourse and five swing gates, was part of a larger $3.2 billion capital program that is modernizing nearly every inch of all four terminals at the southern Florida airport.  

In 2017, FLL served 32.5 million passengers, an 11% increase over the previous year. As owner/operator of the airport, Broward County Aviation Department worked to meet the growing traffic numbers and found success partnering with Southwest Airlines to deliver these most recent projects. Adding swing gates to accommodate more international and domestic service was of great interest to Southwest, notes Mark Gale, chief executive officer and director of aviation for the county department. 

“The facilities that were in place had served us well for an airport doing 7 million to 9 million enplanements,” Gale explains. “But when we started to get up around 16 million-plus enplanements, the facilities were just insufficient to handle that type of traffic.” 

Constructed in 2002, Terminal 1 had numerous deficits because of its pre-9/11 design—an issue shared by many U.S. airports. Many concessions were located pre-security, so amenities were limited once travelers were through the TSA checkpoint. In addition, all of its facilities, from restrooms to security checkpoints to holdrooms, were overloaded due to increasing passenger volume. The recently completed renovation/addition program not only modernized all of Terminal 1, but also allocated space to where it was needed, explains Chief Development Officer Marc Gambrill. 

Planning for the Concourse A addition originally began around 2005, but was soon put on hold. In 2011, modernizing terminals 1, 2 and 3 took center stage, and airport leadership met with Southwest Airlines to discuss the carrier’s desire to grow its domestic and international operations and how FLL could fit into that strategic plan. Aviation department officials subsequently revisited the plan to add Concourse A and merged it with the Terminal 1 modernization in 2013. Because of the airport layout, the Concourse A and Terminal 1 projects were interdependent, explains Gambrill. “You couldn’t do each project separately,” he says, noting that it also made sense to partner with Southwest. 

In late 2013, the airport board approved an agreement to have Southwest lead the project. The airline was responsible for administering and overseeing the modernization of Terminal 1 and the addition of Concourse A. “Working with the airlines, we’ve realized the benefits on both sides,” Gambrill says.

Although the agreement calls for a completion date of November 2019, Southwest and its project partners managed to close out the program in the fall 2018. Corgan and Gresham, Smith and Partners worked together to deliver the project as quickly as possible, explains Ben Goebel, principal and senior architect at GS&P. Corgan served as prime for the entire project and led the design of Concourse A; GS&P was a subconsultant and lead architect for Terminal 1.  

Under the agreement with Southwest, everything from design through construction was approved by the airport and coordinated with operations, maintenance, concessions and other airline partners. “It’s not just allowing the airlines to do it; it’s a back and forth in terms of developing the program and coordinating it,” Gambrill states. “We’re very involved throughout the process, from procuring it and building it.” 

Having Southwest take the lead on the capital project leveraged financial and logistic efficiencies, he explains. “No one knows their flight schedules better than they do.” 

“We had a real need,” explains Randy Gillespie, director of airport affairs for Southwest. “It wasn’t just a need for a terminal, but a need for a terminal by a date certain. We absolutely had to finish building the facility where tickets were already being sold.”

Adding Capacity

Fully $200 million of the overall $333 million renovation program was invested in building Concourse A, a 330,000-square-foot, dual-level, greenfield construction with five swing gates. The new gates allow FLL to maximize utilization by handling domestic and international flights with the same facilities. In addition to Southwest, other airlines also utilize international capabilities on the new Concourse A. 

Gambrill notes that the first step in working with Southwest was developing a project definition manual that identified design phases for the scope of work and coordinated all aspects with various stakeholders. Key constituents included the program management team, construction manager at risk team, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and TSA. 

A new Federal Inspection Station—something Gale says was “desperately needed” for FLL to continue to grow internationally—was constructed in Concourse A. The new facility is designed to process 800 passengers per hour. 

Corgan worked closely with CBP to design the new inspection station to meet current and future needs, says Bob Emery, associate principal at Corgan. Rather than the traditional two-step process for immigration, FLL’s new facility uses a newer one-step process. Immigration and Customs processing occur at the same point by the same officers after passengers have used an automated passport control counter or mobile passport control and claimed their baggage. “It’s much more efficient for CBP,” he remarks. 

Terminal 1 Highlights

The design team employed strategic methods to make Terminal 1 feel larger. Changing light fixtures and removing display monitors and other heavy elements that made the space feel condensed helped open up the holdrooms visually, Goebel says.  

“Even the simple thing of replacing the aged and dull T1 holdroom ceilings with a clean, white ceiling made the space feel taller,” adds Brad Sucher, an architect with GS&P. 

Designers also added more natural lighting and used consistent finish materials to modernize the look and feel of Terminal 1. The color palette includes beach tones and coastal South Florida colors. “The space is more open, lighter, airy and more relaxing,” Goebel notes. New terrazzo flooring and a vibrant public art program add to the modern design of the facility.

A 40-foot-tall glass curtainwall (see photo on cover) provides an expansive view from the terminal entrance to the airfield. Providing a clear view from ticketing through concessions out to the airfield leads to intuitive wayfinding, and also helps travelers feel more comfortable and relaxed, says Sucher.

Signage and wayfinding were updated and standardized—a project that will eventually cover the entire airport campus, notes David Park, senior environmental graphics designer with GS&P. “It’s a very clean, uniform, updated look,” he comments. “This gives the customer a lot more confidence in wayfinding.”

Designers also used subtle architectural elements such as flooring, ceiling elements and interior lighting to help pull travelers’ eyes and guide them through the terminal. Using consistent finish materials for specific areas provides a similar influence, Goebel adds. For instance, vertical circulation structures all incorporate the same materials, and all restrooms have a unified color format. “When you walk down a corridor and see a sea blue wall, you intuitively know that’s a restroom,” he explains.  

A 3,120-square-foot interactive play area and three service animal relief areas were also incorporated into the project. 

Streamlining Security

Central to the modernization of Terminal 1 is the consolidation of two security checkpoints into one. Previously, each checkpoint had five lanes; the new consolidated checkpoint has a total of 12. It also has a secure corridor behind the ticket counters that connects concourses A, B and C. 

The previous Concourse B security checkpoint was a serious problem, notes Gillespie. Its pre-9/11 design was inefficient at meeting post-9/11 security requirements and serving growing traffic numbers. Queues of waiting passengers often extended outside the terminal. 

The new centralized checkpoint improves the process for passengers and TSA alike, Gambrill notes. The updated design allows the agency to make the most efficient use of personnel and equipment.

Design and process improvements have transformed the Terminal 1 checkpoint from what Gillespie considered to be one of the worst in the country to one of the best. “You can check more passengers in, you can get them on the other side of the security checkpoint and they have access to far more concessions,” he explains. 

Access to Amenities

Thanks to the new centralized checkpoint, travelers passing through Terminal 1 now have access to concourses A, B and C—and all their respective amenities. Gale considers this a real “game changer” because it creates more revenue opportunities for FLL and its tenants. 

Previously, passengers flying out of concourses B or C were limited to the concessions there after passing through security screening. In the new Terminal 1 environment, passengers now have access to all the options throughout concourses A, B and C. “The consolidated checkpoint plays a very key role in that,” Gale says. 

Also, from an airport operations perspective, airlines now have the ability to use the facilities in the other concourses, allowing greater efficiency of gate resources. 

With the addition of Concourse A, concessions square footage has doubled to approximately 56,000 square feet. The total number of retail locations increased from seven to 15; and on the food and beverage side, four new options bring the total to 18. “Like most airports, we strive to have a great mix of well-known, national brands, complemented with some local brands,” Gale notes. 

New dining options from master concessionaire HMSHost include Jimmy Buffet Air Margaritaville Fort Lauderdale in the B/C connector; La Familia Tacos & Tequila in Concourse A; Landshark, Sergio’s and Torn Basil in Concourse B; and Shula Burger in Concourse C.  

On the retail side, Hudson Group opened four stores within Concourse A in July 2017: Hudson, Tech on the Go, 5th & Sunset and CNN. In the B/C connector, travelers will find Hudson, 5th & Sunset, Sweet Indulgences, M•A•C, Rip Curl and Harley Davidson. Hudson also opened Intracoastal News in Concourse B and plans to open a Hudson, Desigual and Island of Bahama (beach/island-inspired apparel store) later this year. 

“It transforms the guest experience,” Gale says of the new concessions offerings.