KENT COUNTY, Mich. — 13 ON YOUR SIDE got an early look at the major work underway at Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
The multi-million dollar project centers on concourse A and some of the first spaces that visitors will see after touching down in West Michigan.
The $110-million project will add eight new gates and double the capacity of the concourse.
It’s also expected to include new food options, vendors, an elevated executive lounge and inclusivity-minded upgrades.
The project, a facet of the near $500 million dollar Elevate Program, launched to augment capacity and develop targeted experience-related improvements, is expected to pave the way for future growth.
GRR Concourse A Expansion
“Originally, Concourse A was built for smaller aircraft with smaller hold rooms,” Casey Ries, the Airport Authority’s Engineering and Planning director noted. “Today, what you're feeling and what you're seeing in the space is a modern Concourse with whole rooms of the future intentionally built for today's modern traveler, with the capacity for today's larger aircraft.”
The renovation work will focus heavily on the concourse’s aesthetics, with plans to install four terrazzo art pieces and one hanging piece, in addition to several mounted pieces to craft an impactful ‘first experience’ for travelers to West Michigan.
“This is the first thing you see when you arrive to West Michigan, the last thing you remember when you leave and we want it to be a good experience,” Ries said.
In all, the project will increase the terminal’s size by upward of 100,000 square feet.
The added gates will bring the total in Concourse A to 22.
Construction began in phases in November of 2021.
The new gates are expected to be complete by June of 2023.
Renovations to Concourse A, airport officials said, is expected to conclude the following spring.
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