A much-needed renovation of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport terminal is coming into focus thanks to a $15 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The airport’s 25-year-old, pre-9/11 terminal has never been significantly renovated, and the latest grant funding will go towards enclosing its waiting area, adding more space for Transportation Security Administration workers, coming into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and increasing energy efficiency.
Airport commission chair Bob Rosenbaum told The Times on Monday that the $15 million will not come close to covering the whole project’s cost, and that the project’s total expenses and a timeline are yet to be determined.
“The airport will have to put a fair amount of our own money in, and fortunately we have been saving our pennies in anticipation,” he noted. “We have a healthy reserve at this point.”
A big change on the table for travelers will be enclosing the large outdoor tent that serves as the post-security waiting area. “When it’s hot out, or whether it’s cold out or whether it’s rainy, it can get to be sort of uncomfortable in the tent,” Rosenbaum said.
He is also looking forward to upgrading the building’s heating and cooling systems. “The HVAC systems are failing. The whole electrical infrastructure in the terminal is not in good shape,” he said.
“The HVAC system has continued to have duct tape and bubblegum holding it together,” he added.
A newer electrical system will also allow for the addition of vehicle charger stations in the airport’s parking lots.
TSA workers in the airport will also appreciate a roomier terminal. “TSA was put in that spot after 9/11, and was really shoehorned in there,” Rosenbaum said. “And whenever you have multiple flights at the same time, it really gets to be pandemonium in there.”
On-Island TSA staff have long wanted the airport’s passengers to have two security lines, Rosenbaum added, and their screening equipment has been getting larger for years, both things the project can address.
The airport is now working with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and towns of West Tisbury and Edgartown toward creating materials for public feedback. Cost estimates will follow that, before a final design is completed and the project goes out to bid.
Rosenbaum knows at the outset, however, that an expansion is not the goal.
“We really like the way the terminal looks,” he said. “It’s a very Vineyard-looking building, and it is our desire to maintain that. So what you will mostly see would be from the airfield side, and nothing to do with increasing runway lengths or anything like that.”
Rosenbaum said that updating the terminal has been on his commission’s radar for almost a decade, but that the FAA has opened up its funding for terminal projects in the last couple years.
He added that the Vineyard airport was just one of two in Massachusetts to receive the grant for terminal work this year, perhaps because it meets nearly all of the FAA’s points of interest for such a project. The other grantee was Boston’s Logan airport, which Rosenbaum said secured only $10 million.
One factor to keep in mind during renovation is that the FAA is interested in another project to remake the airport’s control tower. Rosenbaum did not know when that would take place or where the new tower would go. “Now, the control tower is right up against the backside of the terminal. So do we design around where the control tower [currently] is?”
The building will also be in use during the terminal renovations, which Rosenbaum said will be challenging.
The airport’s $15 million grant is funded by the Biden Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which set aside $970 million for 125 U.S. airports.
Imagine if your 25 year old house had these issues? “The HVAC systems are failing. The whole electrical infrastructure in the terminal is not in good shape,” he said. “The HVAC system has continued to have duct tape and bubblegum holding it together,” he added.
You’d be suing the builder! Why do we put up with this shoddy work on our municipal buildings?
Agree– it happens all the time– are we going to go the same route
at the high school ? We can’t seem to be able to hire islanders
for any of these municipal projects, but need to import what
has been proven to be inferior work from bonded off island contractors
at exorbitant rates with no liability. We might be able to agree on this issue–:)
I think it would be good if budgets were made with more attention to building maintenance. I am aggrieved, for instance, that the relatively new library in Oak Bluffs needs more attention. I hope for better for the new Tisbury School. I know the people hired as janitors (is that an obsolete or insulting word?) do their best, but they can’t do the job alone in these larger municipal buildings.
Suing the builder after 25 years? No, I don’t think so.
I don’t have to ‘imagine’ it.
Is the building adequate for it’s intended purpose?
Was thinking the same. Remember when thinks were simple and lasted and didn’t cost millions of dollars for junk….
Cars in the fifties lasted 100,000 miles.
Now it’s 250,000.
Can we ask that they keep light pollution in mind when the design the renovations? Over the past years changes have dramatically reduced our view of the night sky in the direction of the airport. Remember, any outside lights that are aimed upwards are just wasting dollars, and “security” lights mounted on the outside of buildings facing outwards may be a bit less expensive in the short term, but just cause glare that masks unwanted activity on the buildings themselves. IN the last big renovation, the airport installed lights in the parking areas the pointed up with a convenient hole in the center of the shade that allow a lot of the light to travel up to illuminate the sky rather than being reflected down to illuminate the cars.
What about private jet pollution? Funny how the biggest polluters always get a pass
One way to cut down cost and electrical needs is to eliminate the charging stations. What a waste of tax payer money. Another way of increasing revenue is to double all the landing fees on private airplanes certainly they can afford it. As a consequence, it may help cut down on air traffic.
Bob, how many local pilots do you know?
I’m sure they would not all agree with you.
Bob, look at the EV take rate curve. The charging stations will be used.
Look forward.
Wouldn’t it be nice of there was a large sum of money to protect firefighters from the damages of PFAS exposure to their health. They had to use PFAS laden foam for years and PFAS is in their uniforms. I know the alternatives are pricey. And I ask can you put a price on the courage it takes to run towards a fire in order to save others?
I guess I’m living in the wrong world, and I don’t know how to get to the one the commenters here evidently live in – the one where things don’t wear out, reach the end of their useful lives, and never need maintenance, upgrades or replacement. As an Island homeowner, with a 26-year-old house, I have already replaced a number of my mechanical systems in recent years. None of that is due to shoddy workmanship or inferior equipment, and the same is true for the Airport terminal. Mechanical systems wear out and need replacing. A new roof is on the horizon for my house and the terminal. The HVAC people tell me that 15-years is the likely life of a heavily used air conditioning compressor. The Airport’s HVAC systems are now 25-years-old. Residential houses also don’t see 600 people a day using them, as the terminal sees everyday during the four summer months. That amount of traffic leaves its mark on doors, floors, restrooms, and waiting areas. With the advent of the TSA over 20-years ago the electrical system that services all their equipment has been stretched beyond its design capacity. That’s not to mention all the otherwise needed space the TSA has commandeered for their equipment and administrative needs. Aside from wear-and-tear issues, the biggest problem the terminal has is that it has become functionally obsolete, which has nothing to do with shoddy workmanship or cheap materials. A glaring problem is the lack of adequate waiting space for passengers after they have cleared TSA security. The terminal renovation is intended to make it functional again, to bring its layout in line with the way a terminal must operate in a time of increased security and heavy seasonal use. It is not intended to expand its capacity or encourage more air traffic, but to accommodate the passenger load, needs, and circumstances that already exist.
Richard Knabel – Airport Commissioner and Treasurer
Thank you, Richard. I appreciate the explanation.
EV’s are the future.
Look at the ongoing increase in market share.
“U.S. EV market share reached a new high of 8.9% in Q3 2024.
EV sales were up 11% year-over-year, totaling 346,309 sales in the third quarter.”
Does the Island have too much air traffic?
Ferry service?
Albert, taxi drivers are enamored with EVs. There’s a reason the taxi 🚖 industry is moving quickly to EVs: they are practically free to operate.
The are far from free to operate.
The consumer must pay for the power they use.
After a period of subsidy to encourage use.
Hess,,,, sales of Ev’s and hybrids declined in the Q1 of 2024. What is that about?. Is it possible that the bloom is off the rose with not enough charging stations, battery costs and repair problems. Virtue signaling is up but many people realize the car aint that good. I wont buy one because it is inconvenient. Keller might or stay on his bike.
“U.S. EV market share reached a new high of 8.9% in Q3 2024.
EV sales were up 11% year-over-year, totaling 346,309 sales in the third quarter.”
What is that about?
Short sighted fools hang on quarterly results.
See Warren Buffet for the long view.
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