Relocating Mobile’s commercial airline services to a new terminal close to downtown has been described as a “transformational” project for the city and region and one that will lead to lower air fares and more direct flight options in coastal Alabama.
The project, on Tuesday, got the financial backing it needed from the city.
For more on the airport swap:
- In Mobile, ‘transformative’ effort could move airport from suburbs to downtown
- Rise of the low-cost carriers pivotal in Mobile’s new airport opening
- Will Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson have a legacy project in final term?
With a unanimous vote, the Mobile City Council authorized transferring $30 million in General Fund reserves to provide a crucial local funding match toward an approximately $252 million airport project at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, south of downtown Mobile.
The move is the first financial commitment from a local governing body for a project that will lead to a swap of commercial aviation services from Mobile Regional Airport to Brookley, which is home to Airbus’ largest North American manufacturing operations.
The new five-gate airport, which is expected to open in the fall of 2024, will also be the first time an “international” airport has been in operations in Mobile. The objective, according to the Mobile Airport Authority, is to compete with Pensacola International Airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, and elsewhere for direct flights and low-cost carriers.
“With all of the progress going on in the city of Mobile, we need an international airport and more direct services than just Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and Charlotte,” said Councilman C.J. Small, whose district includes Brookley. “This is a lot of money. But the return on this will be much greater than what we have today.”
‘Sound fiscal policies’
The money was available as a result of eight years of building up the city’s General Fund reserves. The $30 million appropriation carves out less than a quarter of the more than $134 million in surplus the city has built up. Mobile is required to maintain a $45 million reserve, which is enough to operate the city for two months.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, in a statement issued Tuesday, touted “sound fiscal policies” under his administration for the past eight years that allows the city to commit funding toward the airport swap.
“As the Mobile Airport Authority continues to lay the groundwork for moving the airport downtown, the city is prepared to help make this game changing transition possible,” Stimpson said.
Stimpson, during the council meeting, credited much of the fiscal discipline to the late Finance Director Paul Wesch, who died in December. The additional reserves are part of the city’s overall approach toward paying down its debt and generating additional revenues to address a list of facility-related needs that include, among other things, a new project at the Mobile Civic Center.
“To have the funds in place to make a transfer like this, it’s due to the fiscal responsibility and culture Paul created,” said Stimpson.
The council’s decision was the last major project voted on by three of its longest serving members – Fred Richardson, Bess Rich and John Williams. All three voted in support of the financial transfer, and praised the project for its potential in being an economic and cultural game changer for downtown Mobile.
“We are talking about (building the airport terminal) in the near distance future,” said Richardson, who is retiring after 25 years on the council. “We are not talking about someone else’s lifetime. We are building this in the next two to three years.”
He added, “I’m glad I’m having this opportunity to vote on this so when the airport is built, I can say ‘I voted to provide funding for this magnificent airport.’”
Rich said she hopes the new airport can be a transportation hub that includes a bus terminal and a passenger rail stop. Amtrak is currently pushing for a return of a Gulf Coast rail route connecting New Orleans to Mobile, and their request is currently being weighed by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.
She also said a new I-10 Mobile River Bridge and the return of the cruise industry to downtown Mobile will help support the airport.
“We have all the pieces and parts that are there,” said Rich. “I know it’s the right decision to make.”
‘Quality of life’
Not all the financing has been finalized. Airport officials plan to seek an additional $30 million from the Mobile County Commission, according to airport president Chris Curry.
“We have not officially asked the county as of yet,” Curry said. “We thought the city should take the lead first as far as local funding. With the mayor’s and council’s approval of this $30 million, our next step will be to visit the county.”
A county spokeswoman declined comment.
Curry said airport staff has met with all three county commissioners and described those meetings a “positive.” He said a specific amount of support has not been pitched to commissioners yet.
He said one aspect of a new international airport he would like to see officials tout more is its impact to the Port of Mobile.
“We talk about the passenger aspects and how it will affect the residents of the community in having lower fares and direct flights to destinations,” Curry said. “But we haven’t talked about the connection with the port. The international piece … it makes Brookley the main transportation center for this region.”
Curry said with a commitment from the county, the first phase of the overall project – the $252 million terminal and associated developments including a parking garage – will be financed. A lion share of the money comes from the federal government, he said. The authority also plans to ask the state for assistance.
Overall, Curry said the Airport Authority would like to purse a $403 million project that will include a second phase which would be an expansion of the new terminal. With five gates, the new airport would still be smaller compared to Pensacola International Airport which has operated with 12 gates since the 1990s.
“The new phase could be an expansion,” Curry said. “As needed, we’ll continue to add to the expansion of the terminal.”
Construction on the new terminal is not expected to begin for another year, Curry said. He said environmental work on the site needs to be completed.
“It could take a year to clear up the property before you see vertical construction,” he said.
The airport swap has been a top priority for the Mobile Airport Authority for several years and has been a priority for Stimpson and his administration and the airport authority has taken steps toward making the project a reality. Recent actions include the approval of Birmingham-based Hoar Program Management (HPM) as the project manager in April and the reopening of the downtown airport’s main runway earlier this month.
The Federal Aviation Administration approved the authority’s 20-year master plan for the project back in the spring.
The airport has been operating a small terminal at Brookley since 2019, as part of an $8 million project financed largely by the authority’s reserves. Denver-based Frontier Airlines offered flights to Denver and Chicago from the downtown airport during 2019, but suspended operations in early 2020.
The city has long argued that Mobile Regional Airport in west Mobile is too far from interstates and does not offer competitive fares or direct flights. In 2019, the airport was the nation’s 165th busiest with 328,00 enplanements – the number of people who boarded an airplane form an airport during a calendar year.
Curry anticipates those numbers rising after the terminal opens.
“In three years, we are going to improve their quality of life,” Curry said about the new airport’s impact. “They won’t have to travel as far to access popular markets. They won’t have to pay as much for an airline ticket as we have at Mobile Regional today. The airport will bring in more jobs and support logistics and cargo and improve synergy for the Port of Mobile.”
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