By Rich Bockmann
Delta celebrated one of its largest investments in the metropolitan area last week when the company cut the ribbon on the $1.2 billion first phase of the expansion of JFK’s Terminal 4, and the airline has more in store.
“We can actually, just when we finish here, go do the groundbreaking for the [second phase] of this terminal, which we’re kicking off right away right on the other side of these gates,” Delta CEO Richard Anderson said last Friday at the end of Terminal 4’s Concourse B.
The 346,000-square-foot completed project, which includes nine new and seven renovated international gates, Delta’s Sky Deck outdoor lounge and trendy dining options such as Shake Shack and Blue Smoke, represents the first phase in Delta’s expansion at JFK. Phase 2, which is slated for completion in the summer of 2015, will add another 11 gates capable of handling new wide-bodied aircraft.
Delta is financing the second phase with about $210 million in tax-exempt bonds.
JFK IAT, the private company which operates the terminal, had been in discussions with Delta for the carrier to become the anchor tenant ever since the terminal opened in 2001 with 16 gates.
But Sept. 11 happened four months after the terminal opened and grounded any plans for expansion until 2008, when JFK IAT and Delta resumed discussions, which culminated in Phase 1 of the project.
The airline industry is one of the region’s main economic engines.
“We’d like to have you employ a lot of people here and make a lot of money and pay a lot of taxes,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
Build NYC facilitated the sale of $210 million in tax-exempt bonds to help Delta finance the second phase of the project. Build NYC estimated the bonds would cost the city $2.3 million in foregone tax revenue over 25 years, and during that time period the project would generate $194 million in taxes.
Since 2008, the Port Authority and its partners have invested $5.15 billion in aviation infrastructure across the region’s airports.
“It’s imperative that we continue to invest in these airports, 21st-century airports,” Port Authority Vice Chairman Scott Rechler said.
In the next five years, the agency plans on investing another $3.4 billion and its private partners will pony up $3.6 billion, including a project to replace the central terminal at LaGuardia Airport.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
