Airport begins first step to remake ticketing terminal, security
Early design of the ticketing terminal renovation at Memphis International Airport. (Submitted)
Snatches of Elvis hits were playing in the thickly carpeted corridors beyond Ballroom B.
Inside, 50 or so contractors were concentrating on the next large construction project at Memphis International Airport, this one larger than the $245 million remake of Concourse B in 2022.
In January, bids will be awarded for the first phase of work to renovate the ticketing and security terminal — essentially the front door of the city’s iconic martini-glass-styled airport — by extending the structure out into what are now the roads for dropping passengers off on the upper deck and meeting them outside baggage claim on the lower level.
Contractors got their first look at the work and the timelines Wednesday, Nov. 29, in an open house the Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority held at Elvis Presley Guest House in Whitehaven.
“We’ve done the back end where you get on the plane. Now the ticketing, forward to the front drive, is what we’re trying to tackle. This is a very, very impactful project, in a good way,” said Brian Tenkhoff, the airport authority’s director of development.
“It is a challenging project.”
Some of the work will have to be done at night when the terminal is empty, although much of it will happen while passengers are milling nearby. Portions will require security clearances for workers behind the security checkpoint.
All are part of a massive renovation that includes reconfiguring 40,000 square feet of airport authority offices, plus seismic retrofits to a terminal that today looks largely the way it did when it opened on June 7, 1963.
“We’re not building to get us through the next 10 years. We’re building us to get through the next 30, hopefully,” Tenkhoff told contractors representing all stages of the work.
Passengers flying out in the early morning notice the congestion most, he said.
“The whole ticketing area is full. It’s not horrible, but the space is not positioned for the business we have now,” he said, including larger planes.
“This will open it up, making it more efficient to get passengers through ticketing and the checkpoint.”
Elevator shafts and escalators will be moved, eliminating obstacles that constrict the flow of traffic. Ticketing counters, which all have digital signage, will be made into universal desks so that when one airline is busy, agents can quickly open another counter.
The work on the terminal itself is scheduled between 2026-2030.
The peripheral projects that make it possible will begin in 2024 with demolition of the roadway in front of the airport now designated for commercial traffic — buses, taxis, Uber and Lyft vehicles. It will be configured to eventually be the main entry to the terminal.
“All the services that are on that outer road currently have to be moved somewhere. That will be the actual first phase of the project,” said Khalif Johson, procurement manager with Turner Construction. It is one of the firms managing the projects.
The first proposals will be for bids to move those services elsewhere.
Minority participation
The airport authority will seek request for proposals and request for qualifications on a project that includes a significant portion of federal funding.
Because it does, the airport authority has to guarantee a portion of the work is awarded to female- and minority-owned businesses.
The goal for the entire project is 21%, said Joe Claiborne, senior manager for business diversity development at the airport.
“We look at future projects, and we try to sit back and say, based on those future projects, based off our past performance, what could we attain?
“There are times when we find we can easily surpass that, and there are times when we just hope to try to get there,” he said.
Construction of Ford Motor Co.’s BlueOval and other projects could easily affect participation rates, he said.
By a show of hands, more than half the contractors in the audience were interested in bidding as minority contractors, an increase the airport has helped build by offering its own federal certification program for disadvantaged business enterprises.
Companies do not have to be certified as DBE firms to bid, but if they are not, their participation does not count toward the airport’s minority contractor goals.
“We have real a vested interest in getting them certified. No. 1, it keeps our numbers true ... if I know there are companies out there who meet the industry classification. If I know those companies are ready, willing and able, and if I know those companies have the capacity, then when I set a goal, it’s a real goal, because it’s based off what we really know in the marketplace,” Claiborne said.
The saturation changes all the time. Companies that grow beyond $23.9 million in sales, for instance, no longer qualify.
Ernest Taylor, vice president of TaylorMade Enterprises, sat near the front, listening closely to the authority’s requirements for digital bids and insurance and bonding expectations.
He intends to bid.
“We do facility maintenance, and we just got into the construction industry,” Taylor said. “We are a partner with Baptist now and doing things with CBRE, trying to expand our reach.”
Last year, TaylorMade also became a vendor for Turner Construction, which boosted sales more than 30%.
“As a small company, we just looked at the opportunity. We felt like there were very few strings as far as the requirements. To me, I think it is fair. It just takes people to collaborate together. You may not be able to provide that service, but you can partner with someone else to get you in the door,” he said.
On smaller projects, the airport authority holds pre-bidding meetings to address contractor questions.
Its open houses are reserved for big projects, and in this case, included a list of projects at General DeWitt Spain Airport in Downtown Memphis and Charles W. Baker Airport in Millington.
“I was happy to see the number of DBE subcontractors that showed up and the interaction,” Tenkhoff said.
“We always try to evaluate if we are hitting on topics that are important. The airport is not super unique, but there are some unique aspects, some requirements that you won’t see on other jobs. We want everyone to be successful. Helping them understand everything they are going to have to do on a project is key.
“This is the first step on that.”
Topics
Ticketing terminal Memphis International Airport Brian Tenkhoff Joe ClaiborneJane Roberts
Jane Roberts has reported in Memphis for more than 20 years. As a senior member of The Daily Memphian staff, she was assigned to the medical beat during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also has done in-depth work on other medical issues facing our community, including shortages of specialists in local hospitals. She covered K-12 education here for years and later the region’s transportation sector, including Memphis International Airport and FedEx Corp.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.