76
GENERAL AVIATION  
September 2026      AirportImprovement.com
SVH
When local officials began eyeing 
ways to improve Statesville 
Regional Airport (SVH) in North 
Carolina, all eyes were on its dilapidated 
terminal building. Clearly, something had to 
be done. 
The 3,600-square-
foot, single-level 
building from 1985 
was “very small 
and very old,” says 
Airport Manager John 
Ferguson. “It was 
leaky and had mold. It 
just didn’t portray our 
community very well.”
The remedy was revealed this spring: 
a new $12.5 million terminal with three 
stories and more than 26,000 square 
feet of space. City Manager Ron Smith 
describes it as a 
building anyone would 
be proud of. “It’s a 
wonderful facility,” he 
remarks. 
The city of 
Statesville, which 
owns and operates 
the airport, had already purchased the 
fixed-base operator on the field in early 
2019 for $5.4 million, and then proceeded 
to map out a plan for improving the 
terminal and other parts of the general 
aviation airport.
It did so because SVH is an important 
asset to the community and region, Smith 
explains. “The airport is a tax revenue 
generator,” he elaborates. “It provides 
jobs for the community, and we want to 
continue to see it grow.”
Statesville Regional 
“Invests in Itself” by 
Building New Terminal 
BY SCOTT BERMAN
PHOTO: SVH
FACTS&FIGURES 
Project: New Terminal
Location: Statesville Regional Airport, in NC
2025 Airport Operations: 62,815
Project Timeline: May 2024 groundbreaking - March 
2026 grand opening
Facility Size: 26,082 sq. ft.
Cost: $12.5 million
Funding: $22.2 million from state ($6.7 million in 
2023, $15.5 million in 2024)
Design: Lindsey Architects
Prime Contractor: Samet Corp.
Civil Engineering: Parrish & Partners
Demolition of Old Terminal: D.H. Griffin Wrecking
Foundation & Ground Improvement: Keller 
North America
Building Envelope Consultant: WBD & 
Associates
Building Envelope Contractor: Martin Roofing 
Services
Flooring, Ceilings, Cladding, etc.: Bonitz
Wall Systems: Precision Walls
Roof Systems: WXTite LLC
Vertical Transportation: Schindler Elevator
Plumbing: Gentry & Son Plumbing
Exterior Brick Manufacturer: Statesville Brick
Seating: Interior Elements
JOHN FERGUSON
RON SMITH

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.