TRAVERSE CITY — Cherry Capital Airport officials continue to clear the runway for its proposed terminal expansion.
The Northwest Regional Airport Authority on Tuesday unanimously approved an “intent resolution” for the estimated $112.8 million terminal expansion project, which is scheduled to begin in 2026 and be completed by 2028.
The action came one month after the airport board hosted a joint meeting with the Grand Traverse and Leelanau County Boards of Commissioners to review the new terminal site and expansion plans. Both county boards will be asked to sign off on the project, and Grand Traverse will also be asked to attach its full faith and credit behind the bond issue to generate a lower interest rate.
Cherry Capital Airport CEO Kevin Klein called the intent resolution “the first procedural step” in launching the terminal project. It’s a routine — but significant — measure in that it starts a 45-day window for a potential petition challenge to the bond issue provided for under a 1933 state law that begins after a public notice is posted in newspapers in both counties, which is is scheduled for next week.
After the notice, electors will have 45 days to circulate petitions to require a public vote on the bond issue, which must be signed by not less than 10 percent of the registered voters in both counties. Airport Authority Karrie Zeits said that would require some 10,446 signatures, based on the 84,370 registered voters in Grand Traverse County and another 20,094 in Leelanau.
Plans call for an 80,000-square foot terminal expansion — adjacent to the existing 20-year-old terminal is 121,000 square feet. The new terminal building would include five additional jet bridges, adding to the five existing bridges in the existing terminal. It will include construction of a second concourse and a connector building between the existing and new structures, along with various upgrades to airport security checkpoints.
The project will be paid for with funds from the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, along with bond funds repaid with a $4.50-per-passenger facility charge levied on airport travelers.
While the intent resolution provides for up to $71 million in tax-exempt bonds for the expansion, the specific amount and timing of the bond sale is yet to be determined. Klein said the bonding amount could be lower — and possibly significantly lower — depending on the amount of grant funding that the airport can secure for the project.
The bond amount and timing of the sale will also depend on how much of its cash reserves — currently around $12 million — the Airport Authority will put toward the project. Klein said he expects the bonds to be issued in late 2025 or early 2026.
The Airport Authority’s Executive Committee earlier this month also hired the Plante Moran accounting and business advisory firm to serve as construction managers for the terminal project. Plante Moran will assist airport staff in developing requests for qualifications from potential construction firms, help in contract negotiations and monitor financing related to the project.
Plante Moran will be paid $60,000 for its initial fee, with additional costs as the planning and construction of the project moves ahead.