Wilmington International Airport is looking to expand.
 
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently reviewing a draft Environmental Assessment for any potential environmental impacts related to the proposed airline terminal expansion at ILM. The 141-page environmental assessment (EA) can be viewed online.
 
The proposed project includes the expansion and partial replacement of the existing three-level airline passenger terminal, the expansion of the terminal aircraft apron and the construction of a two-story automobile parking deck at the location of an existing surface parking lot at the airport.
 
The draft EA is available for review for 30 days, with the period for public comment ending Feb. 21.
 
“Once the EA is approved and funding available, I would anticipate breaking ground on Phase 1 in approximately 20 months,” Whitney Prease, ILM facilities director, said Wednesday.
 
Talbert & Bright of Wilmington is handling the engineering and planning on the project.
 
The new two-story parking lot will be built just to the north of the terminal, where the rental car lot currently sits.
 
“The Phase 1 parking structure constructed over the existing lot will provide approximately 270 parking spaces, which is a net increase of 123 spaces,” Prease said. The new parking facility will continue to hold rental car fleets.
 
The preliminary estimated cost for the entire project is $88 million, according to airport documents.

"We will have a better understanding of the phases and costs associated with each after the project is actually designed. We have a ways to go before we even get to that point," said Robert Campbell, ILM finance director.

Currently, local funding for the expansion is at $3 million and federal funding at $33 million, leaving a gap of $52 million.

"There are several potential sources of financing, and we will most likely use some combination of them all. That is one of the next steps in this process – deciding how the project will be financed," Campbell said.

The terminal building component of the project will expand the existing secure-side passenger holdroom and concession area; replace the existing passenger concourse with a new, larger concourse; reconfigure and enlarge the central ‘throat’ of the terminal to provide additional passenger security screening capacity; provide additional space for passenger ticketing and check-in; provide new ramp level baggage makeup and screening areas; expand airline office space, and provide an additional, larger baggage claim area. The terminal would grow by 53,000 square feet, under the plan, with space for more retail and restaurants as well.
 
The terminal apron, essentially the parking lot for planes, would be expanded from its current size of 730,000 square feet, to about 880,000 square feet. This would accommodate the expansion of the terminal and provide a larger aircraft maneuvering area for the existing and projected aircraft fleet.
 
“The project will have the capabilities to accommodate additional gates,” Prease explained.
 
The current ILM passenger terminal opened in 1990 and went through remodeling projects in 2000 and 2002
 
A public information workshop about the project and the draft EA will be held in the airport conference room, on the second floor of the airport main terminal, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16.
 
Comments on the expansion can also be made in writing, and addressed to the Wilmington International Airport, Attn: Julie Wilsey, Airport Director, 1740 Airport Blvd., Suite 12, Wilmington, NC 28405. Written comments will be accepted during the public comment period which ends Feb. 21.