Colorado Springs Airport to renovate concourse as part of master plan for future growth

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Much of the airport's interior has been repaired and renovated after an April 2018 fire caused more than $7 million in damage, and now the concourse area is next to be renovated.

The concourse, which leads customers to the airport's 12 gates and wasn't damaged in the fire, has remained much the same as it was when it opened in 1994.

However, with the city and the airport growing, bringing more customers and creating the need for more flights, airport officials are working on an updated master plan to handle current and future growth.

"This is something we consider critical — not just for the airport of today, but for the airport 20 years out," said aviation director Greg Phillips.

Initial blueprints for the concourse renovation are expected in early 2022, but the project could start as soon as that summer -- with a projected cost of $15 million to $20 million and a construction timetable of three to five years.

Officials said that the work will be done at no cost to taxpayers and passengers, and will likely be financed by a combination of funding from the adjacent business park, the airport's own sources and the federal government.

Whether to add more gates is one of the objectives of the master plan, some of which include short-term and long-term goals.

A project to build two hotels and a conference center at the southeast end of the business park is expected to start this spring after being delayed two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A long-term goal is for the airport and the FAA to look at a point where two runways end close together and determine if it has the potential to become a "hot spot" of concern for potential accidents in the future.

Officials said that the growth of the business park, Peterson Space Force Base, Amazon, the airport and the city as a whole have created the need to update the airport's master plan.

The top three passenger requests, Phillips said, are: Lower fares, more flight destinations and covered parking.

"We've made big improvements on the first two and are working on the third," he said.