Aviation officials announced Wednesday a general contractor has been selected to build a new terminal at San Antonio International Airport (SAT).
Director of Airports Jesus Saenz told City Council that an evaluation committee has chosen Colorado-based construction firm Hensel Phelps to plan, oversee and build the terminal. The project is part of the San Antonio International Airport’s $2.5 billion airport redevelopment plan.
With a $22 billion aviation portfolio, Hensel Phelps is the largest aviation contractor in the country and has completed airport projects in Orlando, Seattle and Los Angeles. In May, Hensel Phelps got council approval to design and build SAT’s ground load facility, relocate an existing gate in Terminal A and create additional overnight parking for aircraft.
The construction manager at risk contract with Hensel Phelps is valued at $1 billion, and is the largest capital development project in the city’s history.
The scope of work includes designing and building a 17-gate concourse; expanding an elevated roadway and adding weave lanes; enhancing the central utility plant; building a multistory ground transportation center and new Federal Inspection Service/Customs Area; developing a “remain overnight” aircraft parking area; and doing site work, demolition and utility improvements.
The contract is the largest chunk of the $1.4 billion total for the new terminal and all the enabling projects in the terminal development program, Saenz said in his presentation to council about the post-solicitation process.
Funding for the project will come from airport fees paid by the airlines and revenue from parking and concession as well as from guaranteed annual revenue bonds and federal grants.
Council must vote to approve the contract at its Dec. 12 meeting.
Terminal construction is expected to start late next year or early 2025 and be completed in 2028. Built into the budget is 10% for contingency costs and 30% for cost escalations.
Hensel Phelps will build the terminal using a “construction manager at risk” development method, which calls for a construction manager to oversee a project from design to construction close-out.
It’s a method increasingly used to control costs and timelines on major capital projects, and one City Manager Erik Walsh said the city plans to implement for future major road construction projects.
Hensel Phelps will select subcontractors for various parts of the project and present them in 25 to 30 separate bid packages throughout the course of the project in quarterly updates to the council.
Those bid packages offer local contracting companies an opportunity to participate in the project, said Deputy City Manager Maria Villagómez.
Saenz called it a team approach and a way to ensure an airport is built to the standards that the city wants and deserves. It’s also a way to maintain cost and schedule efficiencies.
A nine-member evaluation committee selected Hensel Phelps for the job following a process that began with a request for qualifications in July.
The committee included Saenz, Villagómez, Assistant City Manager Jeff Coyle, Airport System Development Committee Member Ed Rice, other aviation staff and the deputy general manager of infrastructure at Atlanta’s airport.
Two other firms submitted proposals: Sundt PCL Joint Venture of San Antonio and Austin Commercial of Dallas.
“Our task soon became not do we find somebody that’s going to do this work, but how do we select from among three very qualified visitors to find the best fit for our community that is here, and the vision that we all have, as we move into that next phase?” Rice said.
The committee came to a consensus that the bid from Hensel Phelps met the requirements for San Antonio.
Villagómez said the firm stood out for how it planned to do the work while minimizing the impact on air travelers and how it plans to safeguard construction workers while meeting schedule commitments.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg and all but one council member said they supported the selection of Hensel Phelps.
Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8) said the Colorado firm was a “no-go” for him.
“My priorities are to find ways to propel local businesses,” Pelaez said. “I think we missed the mark. … Local, local local is our job here.”
Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) said Pelaez is not wrong to demand support for San Antonio-based contractors and workers.
But, “I want to just make the point that the airport is going to help build the city that will allow local contractors to bid for these projects,” she said. “I think we have to take this step forward. This is the whole promise of this world-class airport.”
Construction began in early October on the ground load facility, one of the first major elements of the airport’s redevelopment plan that is expected to add three gates, with the possibility of expanding to five.
The 37,000-square-foot passenger facility south of Terminal A is expected to be completed in May 2025, providing needed capacity for the increasingly busy airport.
During the recent Thanksgiving holiday travel week, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 155,000 passengers at the San Antonio airport, an increase of 11% compared to 2022 and 16% above the same period in 2016.
The Federal Aviation Administration has forecast the airport will reach 12 million passengers a year by 2030.
Speaking on a Texas Tribune-sponsored panel with other regional economic development officials on Wednesday morning, Greater:SATX President and CEO Jenna Saucedo-Herrera said the investment in the airport is not just a San Antonio project.
“That is for the region,” she said. “We are working as an organization with our partners at Visit San Antonio and the San Antonio International Airport on increased air service. We just landed our first transatlantic flight to Frankfurt, and additional nonstop connectivity into Mexico. All of that work helps support existing business, business growth, but also new business investment into the region beyond the airport.”
