b'TERMINALSATY 31region. The vision for expansion startedit to have more of a family-and-friends atmosphere. Air travel is a more than five years ago, even before ATYhuge part of our world, and being able to welcome people back hired Wisconsin-based firm Mead & Hunt tohome or see them off is an important part of that. lead planning for the new terminal. The firmThe design vision was to return to a time when people visited began in 2018 by preparing a concept andairports for the sheer joy of seeing aircraft take off into the sky. budget planning study to help secure FAAOf course, security regulations preclude guests from joining supplemental discretionary funding.passengers at the gate. But huge glass windows on the main For design, Mead & Hunt called uponMITCH WALKER floor and mezzanine that look out into the apron bring back the CO-OP Architecture in Sioux Falls, SD. Doingfeeling of a bygone travel era, even for non-ticketed passengers. so stacked the project with people who hadThe two-story layout allows for ample air circulation and easy special connections to the area. Mitch Walker,views of the airfield and nearby scenic vistas. Another amenity Aviation Architecture leader for Mead & Hunt,that harkens to earlier times: free parking for customers.was born in Watertown; and Jason Kann, hisDanger Von Dempseys Slicehouse, a concessionaire in the counterpart from CO-OP, grew up there.terminal lobby, features pizza, beer and appetizers. Secure doors Walker notes that the project team hadin the kitchen allow the restaurant to serve visitors on the public to move quickly to help ATY secure funding.JASON KANN side as well as passengers who have already cleared the TSA After receiving notice in December 2019 that the grant requestcheckpoint.had been approved, design and planning began in earnest, asMitch [Walker] and some of the folks at Mead & Hunt along the team needed to finalize project plans before Aug. 1, 2020, towith some from the airport board talked quite a bit about pre-meet funding requirements.9/11, and how you could watch people land and come off the Then, COVID-19 shook the industry and world, sending plansplanes. That has kind of gone away, Kann reflects. There was and timelines topsy-turvy. an interesting opportunity with the size of this airport to make it more of a public event, and that became a core piece of the Old-Time Public Access design. Thats a very unique thing in an airport.Mead & Hunt and CO-OP conducted weekly meetings with a design committee assembled by the city council and airport board. This process entailed designing by committee, so decisions had to be streamlined to stay on schedule to meet Supplemental Funding requirements. Layering an emerging pandemic on top ofAirport Seating Alliancethat added even more complexity. And it wasnt a simple remodel,Now Offers More For Airportseither. The terminal needed a complete replacement, and theTRADITIONAL SEATING AND A FULL LINEairport would need to break new ground to do so.OF INDOOR/OUTDOOR WASTE RECEPTACLES!The old terminal building had been expanded six different times, and usable airport space was only about 8,500 square feet, Walker explains. The checkpoint required passenger movement down hallways and corridors, and after 9/11, it was no longer efficient.In total, the team designed a new 26,000-square-foot terminal with streamlined security, contemporary design, modern check-in and car rental counters, and improved amenities. The result was a testament to staying organized and making decisions quickly.I would honestly say that was one of the most efficient decision-making committees Ive ever been on, says Kann. They did a very good job on the city side. Assistant City Manager/Public Works Director Heath VonEye was instrumental in helping shepherd the project from early concept through design, and also navigating funding and financial implementation during construction. We wanted to take [the airport] back to the old days, when peopleVisit Us at ACC/AAAE Airports Planningwould bring a family member to the gate andHEATH VonEYE Design and Construction Symposium in SLCBooth 307see them off, VonEye explains. We wanted airportseatingalliance.com|info@airportseatingalliance.comAirportImprovement.comJanuary | February 2024'