Centerlines - June 2008 - (Page 19)

REVENUE ARENA Terminal Marketplace in Denver. Arriving passengers emerge at a single location where the people-mover stops, making it easy to locate concessions conveniently where passengers will be met. The ﬁnal approach is a joint venture in which the airport rents its land for 50 years but does not expect the return of useful buildings at lease end. Rent revenue will be lower, but since there is no direct cost to the airport, there will be little or no risk. The strategic location near Columbus, Ohio, of Rickenbacker International Airport, the cargo airport managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, enhances its real estate opportunities, with a 1,500-acre regional global logistics park under development, said Robin Holderman, the authority’s real estate vice president. The airport negotiated a deal with Norfolk Southern Railroad to build a $65 million intermodal terminal near the airﬁeld which will connect directly to the Port of Hampton Roads near Norfolk, Va., via the Heartland Corridor, a double stacked railcar project. About $200 million is being spent to raise the height or lower the railbeds of 28 tunnels and bridges to permit double stacking. When completed in early 2010, container shipments received at the port will be immediately put on railcars and sent to Columbus. There will be 28 million square feet of warehouse distribution facilities from which goods will be transported by truck, train or air to their ﬁnal destinations. These facilities are being built by the authority’s commercial real estate development partner. The authority will share the proﬁt when the facilities are sold. The authority is also creating an aviation center on Rickenbacker’s north airﬁeld. This will include the corporate campus of fractional jet ownership company NetJets. “The campus will include corporate ofﬁces, a ﬁtness center/cafeteria and a ﬂight training facility,” Holderman said. The authority wants to add businesses to support NetJets, such as a company that refurbishes, paints or services airplanes. Columbus is not the only airport with a lot of extra land and some creative ideas. If tests prove adequate on an airport-owned site at Denver International, an energy generating wind farm may be built. “Since it is away from the rest of the airport, the height concerns for aircraft should be less of an issue than if the towers were on the actual airﬁeld,” said Patrick Heck, Denver’s deputy manager for revenue and business development. Denver is also working out a deal with Starwood for a high-end Westin Hotel attached to the main terminal. “Ultimately, the success of any hotel will depend on the market at the individual airport, but I believe there are many places where this concept would work,” he said. “In general, hotels at or close to the airport terminal seem to do very well.” Parking Potential Passenger growth suggests a need for more airport parking. Denver added a new parking structure with 1,800 spaces in January due to increased demand. “We have also upgraded our facilities in our overﬂow economy lot as it is being used more often, and we recently signed an agreement with a third party operator (Wally Park) to expand their operations at the airport by about 600 spaces,” Heck said. To improve the customer experience with parking, Denver’s website was updated to include www.aci-na.org | CENTERLINES 19 http://www.aci-na.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Centerlines - June 2008

Centerlines - June 2008 Contents President’s Message Canadian Airports Associates’ Corner Guest Column On the Hill and On the Stump Policy Center Cover Story: Hotter Than Last July? Revenue Arena: Building Non-Aeronautical Revenue Environment: Wind Turbines at Boston Logan Passenger Focus: Des Moines Deals with the Iowa Caucuses Safety and Security: Inline Explosives Detection Systems Air Service Recruitment: Holding on to What You’ve Got On Management: Managing Capital Programs Now Underway Grand Opening Conference Previews and Reviews New Members Index of Advertisers/Advertiser.com Box Scores

Centerlines - June 2008

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