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LaGuardia Opens NewConcourse in Terminal B14 LGATERMINALSIn early December, LaGuardia Airport (LGA) opened thefirst 11 gates of its new Eastern Concourse in TerminalB. By the middle of this year, the concourse will have 18gates in operation.When the Western Concourse is completed, Terminal B willinclude a total of 35 gates and feature dual pedestrian bridgesthat span active taxi lanes and connect the main departuresand arrivals hall (known as the headhouse) with the two islandconcourses. In all, there is 1.3 million square feet of new space.The larger project also includes a central hall, central heatingand refrigeration plant, parking garage, associated airsidedevelopment, roadway/bridge infrastructure serving the entireairport and utility upgrades.The Terminal B expansion and renovation program is part ofan aggressive 4 billion effort to replace LGA’s outdated andundersized Central Terminal Building. It is also the preliminarystage of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s 8billion initiative designed to transform LGA into a “unified 21stcentury terminal system.” When the overall program is complete,the airport will include 2.7 million square feet of facilities, with 72gates throughout six concourses, two new arrival/departure hallsconnected by a Central Hall, and miles of new roadways.March April 2019BY JODI RICHARDSLaGuardia Gateway Partners is responsible for the design,construction, operation and maintenance of the new TerminalB facilities under a public-private partnership with the PortAuthority. LaGuardia Gateway Partners is a private equitycomprised of Vantage Airport Group, Skanska USA, Meridiamand JLC Infrastructure for development and equity investment;Skanska-Walsh as the design-build joint venture; WSP andHOK for design; and Vantage Airport Group for terminaloperations. LaGuardia Gateway Partners took over operationand management of the terminal on June 1, 2016, with a leaseagreement that lasts until December 30, 2050.New Facilities & AmenitiesConstructed in 1964, Terminal B was originally designed toaccommodate 8 million passengers per year. At its current loadof 15 million, the facility was not only undersized, but in need ofsecurity and amenity upgrades as well.Stewart Steeves, chief executive officer of LaGuardia GatewayPartners, explains that the Port Authority wants to redevelopLGA into a “world-class facility—to bring in the best passengeramenities and services, latest technologies and capacity for thetraveling public, both today and into the future.”Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.For reprints please contact the Publisher.AirportImprovement.com
TERMINALSLGA15FACTS&FIGURESProject: New Eastern ConcourseLocation: LaGuardia Int’l Airport, Terminal BCost: Part of 4 billion construction project for newTerminal BSize: 243,000 sq. ft.Gates: 11 initially; 7 more by mid-2019Airport Owner: Port Authority of New York &New JerseyAccording to Steeves,“world class” is in theeye of the beholder—inthis case, the airport’spassengers and airlines.As such, it was importantfor the consortium tounderstand what services,STEWART STEEVESamenities and productsboth key customer groups wanted at LGA.LaGuardia Gateway Partners consequentlycombined passenger surveys and tenantfeedback along with Vantage Airport Group’s20 years of developing airports around theworld to craft a development program tailoredspecifically for LGA.“Travelers will notice the higher ceilings,better sightlines, natural and better lighting,spacious and well-appointed bathrooms,more amenities adjacent to the gate, andwider circulation aisles,” says WSP’s UlrichLemcke, project director of the design jointventure.Demolition of a multi-level parking garagelocated in front of the existing terminalmade room for the construction of the newheadhouse, which includes passengerticketing and check-in, security and baggageclaim. The headhouse is slated to open in2020, along with the first gates of the WesternConcourse.LaGuardia Gateway Partners: VantageAirport Group; Skanska USA; Meridiam; JLCInfrastructureAlthough Terminal B will now be larger,walking distances will be minimized, andcheck-in and security will be centralized toimprove passenger flow. Glass curtainwallsbathe the entire departure hall in natural light,and concessions are also centralized to “offerthe best kind of services and amenities ina comprehensive way that everybody hasaccess to,” says Steeves.Boarding Bridges: ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems.Aside from the “mathematical level ofservice”—having enough physical capacity tomeet demand—there’s also the “guest levelof service,” Steeves explains. Considerableeffort was made to develop what he calls theDesign Build Joint Venture: Skanska-WalshTerminal Operations: Vantage Airport GroupDesign Joint Venture: WSP (lead & engineer ofrecord); HOK (architect of record)Docking System: ADB SAFEGATEFire/Life Safety Engineering: AroraEngineersSeating: VitraInteractive Wall in Play Area: BreezeCreativeInterior Features: 55-foot-high ceilings;floor-to-ceiling windows; indoor park with benches& landscaping; new concessions lineup; closedcaptioned TVs to decrease noise in holdrooms;hospitality-grade restroomsAssociated Projects: Dual pedestrian bridgesthat span active taxi lanes & connect the maindepartures/arrivals hall with both concourses;7-story parking garage that opened in Feb. 2018Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.AirportImprovement.comFor reprints please contact the Publisher.March April 2019
16 LGATERMINALSThe Eastern Concoursewill include 18 gates.and services side, there is District Market,FAO Schwarz, McNally Jackson, MACCosmetics, Hudson, LaGuardia DufryDuty Free Shops and SpaHere.“We’ve really tried to create anenvironment that is somewhatpersonalized by offering a range ofoptions, so people feel that they’ve hadan enjoyable experience here and we’vemet their needs,” he elaborates.“softer side” of service—offering products,amenities and services for all travelers,and making sure guests enjoy theirexperience and appreciate the time spentat LGA.Upon completion, wayfinding will besimplified, because there will only be onedecision point for passengers—head tothe Eastern Concourse or the WesternConcourse.The 243,000-square-foot EasternConcourse features 55-foot-high ceilingsand floor-to-ceiling windows. An indoorpark with benches and landscaping styledto look like a traditional New York City parkprovides travelers with a surprising placeto relax. “It’s been very attractive for peopleto spend time in that area instead of goingdirectly to the gate area,” Steeves reports.The new food and beverage programwill feature a variety of options, with aheavy emphasis on New York City brands.Restaurants include: Shake Shack, LaChula Bar and Taqueria, Osteria Fusco,Kingside, Irving Farm Coffee Roasters and5 Boroughs Food Emporium. On the retailFor example, televisions in the holdroomsare closed-captioned, so passengers whoaren’t interested in programming are notdisturbed by its noise.Acoustic ceilingtiles and carpetcombine to dampennoise in the terminaland provide a morecalming environmentfor travelersto relax, addsThomas Nilsson,THOMAS NILSSONINFINITE POSSIBILITIESFrom departure to destination, ourdisplays guide, inform and entertaintravelers on their journey.Daktronics.com/AirportsFrom a welcoming message to providingflight status to wayfinding — our displaysconnect you with your passengers.March April 2019Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.For reprints please contact the Publisher.AirportImprovement.com
TERMINALSvice president of Skanska, the leadingpartner in the Skanska-Walsh joint ventureresponsible for the design and constructionof Terminal B.An airport-themed children’s play areaincludes a 16-foot interactive display. Themulti-user experience allows children todesign their own aircraft on a tablet andwatch them come to life and take off fromLGA’s runway on a giant digital wall.Pet relief areas (set to open later inconstruction), family restrooms, a room fornursing mothers and upgraded restroomsalso add to the enhanced passengerexperience. “The new restrooms have causedquite a bit of excitement,” reports Nilsson. Inaddition to eliciting positive reviews on socialmedia, the new facilities have received localand national news coverage. Constructingquality, well-appointed restrooms wasimportant to all parties, because they oftencreate the first impression of an airport fortravelers, he explains.LGASteeves describes the restrooms as“hospitality standard,” with spacious stallsand above-sink shelves to keep belongingsdry while visitors wash their hands. Moreover,they are stocked with fresh flowers—justanother way to surprise and delight guestsas they travel through LGA, he notes.by showcasing the Manhattan skyline fromthe departures level. “The view is trulyamazing,” says Nilsson.Airfield & Other Improvements“The design includes a series of trenchdrains and manholes that discharge to aseries of manufactured treatment devicesbefore discharging to the existing stormsewer system,” says Darren Delenick, thefirm’s airside drainage and storm water lead.On the airfield, LaGuardia Gateway Partnersand Skanska-Walsh will add two miles ofadditional taxiways, including a system ofcircular taxi lanes that wrap around theconcourses under elevated passengerwalkways. The dual pedestrian bridgeswill span more than 400 feet from theheadhouse to concourses A and B, about60 feet above the active taxiways.The layout is designed to provide moreoptions for greater functionality to getaircraft into/out of gates and load/unloadpassengers more efficiently. The new airsidedesign takes advantage of the surroundings17WSP’s water and environment groupis providing drainage and stormwatermanagement design and constructionservices for the airside portion of the project.Information technology upgradesinclude a new fiber optic data network thatfacilitates improved building managementsystems and allows for the deploymentof common-use technology to increaseoperational flexibility.Civil work makes up a large portionof the project, including 8 miles of newroadways, 2.5 miles of which are elevatedALIS: the new go-to airside asset registration,tracking and maintenance solution for airportsAIRSIDE LOCATION-BASED INSPECTION AND SERVICEALIS – ADB SAFEGATE’s new digital assettracking, inspection and service solution– helps airports easily register airsideassets using GPS data, electronicallyschedule and track maintenance, andrecord maintenance and inspection tasksin compliance with FAA standards.8:30 AMMapViewMap view provides the perfect workflowbetween airside operations and themaintenance teams. With observationsreporting, operations can capture theexact location, status and even photos ofthe asset and immediately upload it toALIS for maintenance scheduling.ALIS can also beintegrated with anelectronic wrench foraccurate, ergonomictorque inspections of AGLfixtures. It easily integratestorque measurementsand photometricmeasurement reports toprovide a complete viewof the asset’s status.ALIS gives airportsincreased visibility ofairside assets, helpingthem plan and schedulepreventive maintenance,or undertake correctivemaintenance more quickly,to reduce downtime andsignificantly improveoperational availability.adbsafegate.comContent is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.AirportImprovement.comFor reprints please contact the Publisher.March April 2019
18 LGATERMINALSThe new restrooms are garneringcompliments on social media.Fire/LifeSafety SystemsDue to their size and occupancylevels, the new facilities inTerminal B at LaGuardia Airportrequire a myriad of fire/lifesafety protection measures. Forinstance, the entire building hadto be outfitted with sprinklers.roads and bridges. A new flyover exit rampthat crosses perpendicularly over the eastbound Grand Central Parkway reorients andimproves the traffic flow to the airport bydistributing vehicle traffic to the eastern andwestern sides of the airport.Monthly open houses are held to updateemployees about the project and allow themto participate in some decisions that directlyaffect their areas. “The success of a projectlike this is frequent engagement with all ofour business partners—really listening to thevoice of everybody who participates here,”Steeves notes.Customer service training programs havebeen implemented across the airport, andLGA has added performance-based incentivesto some service contracts, so providers arerewarded for doing a great job.P3 Facilitates Alternate DesignThe massive redevelopment is occurringwhile Terminal B remains fully functional.Ensuring uninterrupted operations throughoutconstruction is a tremendous, yet critical,challenge, says Nilsson. “We have to maintainas close to 35 gates as we can through theconstruction, and that is the guiding principle,”he specifies. That principle dictated much ofthe phasing. The first 11 gates in the EasternConcourse were constructed in one phase,thus allowing the team to move operations tonew gates, before decommissioning the othersto begin replacing them.Maintaining a comfortable interiortemperature for passengers and staff fell toWSP’s energy team. “The first phase of theconstruction plan called for demolition of theexisting central heating and refrigeration plantthat served the existing Central Terminal B,”explains Chris Tso, the firm’s lead mechanicalengineer. “The challenge was to find a way toMarch April 2019provide heating and cooling for the existingterminal without using the existing centralheating and refrigeration plant.”The solution was a three-phase approachthat included the creation of an interim coolingtower that is currently in operation. Eventually,the final cooling tower will be constructed forthe new concourse.A public-private partnership (P3) allows formore innovation in operating the facility andfinancing the project, says Nilsson. It alsofacilitates the close coordination necessaryto carry out a project of this scale and scope,he adds.“We were interested in a P3 because itreally spoke to the strengths of our variousconsortium partners,” Steeves explains,noting the importance of keeping thebusy airport operational throughout thecomplicated project. “The P3 model brings alot of innovation, perspective and experienceto a project that can be very constructive.”For example, the design solution for thenew Terminal B is a revision from the originalproject proposal, which Nilsson describes asa “very cumbersome kind of construction”that shifted passenger flow four separatetimes through 12 construction phases. Theproject team worked together to devise analternate design that included six constructionphases and required just one shift to the newheadhouse.“We’re approaching the project herein a completely different way than hadoriginally been envisioned, and that’s adirect consequence of the partners thatcame together through this model,” remarksSteeves.Originally, the Port Authority planned tohave the Terminal B parking garage and roadnetwork reconfiguration projects outside ofArora Engineers Inc.designed a variety of fire/life safety systems toaccommodate the terminal’sdiverse potential hazards andunique physical configuration,which includes two elevatedpedestrian walkways. Rising 60feet over active taxiways, the400-foot pedestrian walkwaysextend from the headhouse toconcourses A and B. Becauseof the unique design, therewas no prescriptive fire safetystandard for the structure thatmet current codes.Working with projectstakeholders, Arora designedtwo fire protection systems—glazing protection sprinklersand under-bridge sprinklers—toprovide a cooling effect toprotect occupants inside andmaintain the integrity of thebridge.Because of the massive sizeof the bridge glazing, engineersdetermined that activatingall of the glazing sprinklerssimultaneously would exceedthe facility’s water supply. Toaddress that issue, the glazingprotection system for eachbridge was subdivided intomultiple, zoned deluge sprinklersystems located and activatedby a corresponding group offlame detectors.Arora personnel note thatthese innovative and functionaldesign features can now beimplemented in future projectswith similar challenges.Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.For reprints please contact the Publisher.AirportImprovement.com
Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.For reprints please contact the Publisher.
20 LGATERMINALSthe scope of the P3 contract. In the long run,however, bringing it all under one contractproved beneficial for the Port Authority andthe construction process. “We can coordinateeverything and we don’t have to go through aseparate contractor,” Nilsson explains.Holdrooms are outfitted with tallwindows and Vitra seating.The seven-story Terminal B parking garageopened in February 2018 with 3,100 spaces.Like many other airports, LGA has seen areduction in the demand for parking thanksto the increase in the popularity of companieslike Uber and Lyft. To accommodate the shift,the second floor of the new parking garage isdedicated to ride-share vehicles.The growth of for-hire vehicle services hasalso influenced traffic patterns around theairport. When Skanska-Walsh bid the job in2014, such apps were in their infancy, so theyoffer a good example of the need for flexibleplanning and design, Nilsson reasons.“We spent a lot of time in the early stagesfuture-proofing,” he remarks. An open designfor the check-in area allows for a flexiblelayout able to more easily adapt when and ifcheck-in needs or technology change in thefuture. Along with additional square footage,the terminal features a more effective andefficient flow as passengers move throughoutthe facility, he adds.Steeves agrees it is crucial that the newterminal can easily adapt as the industryevolves. “Preserving flexibility will allow usto reconfigure, reshape things over timeas trends might emerge that we can’tcontemplate today,” he says.Peak Passenger Volume,Peak ConstructionChris Villari,communications managerfor Skanska-Walsh, pointsout that 2018 was thepeak year for constructionon the project, with about 90 million invested eachmonth. The airport alsoChris Villariexperienced its highestannual passenger volume ever in 2018, withpassenger volumes in March through Junesetting new individual month records.Despite hosting nearly 1 billion ofconstruction work each year, the TerminalB has remained operational for 15 millionpassengers. “I think we have shown that it ispossible to do,” Nilsson says.March April 2019Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.For reprints please contact the Publisher.AirportImprovement.com
TERMINALSThe P3 structure and design/build joint venture allowed thedesigner, operator and builder to communicate and develop theproject collaboratively from day one, Villari adds. “Having inputfrom all three upfront gives you a better chance of building andimplementing something that can be operated for the entirelifecycle successfully,” he says.Overnight shifts have been key to the construction process,with more disruptive tasks, such as utility or water main work,occurring during the five hours that LGA is without traffic. Thatwindow is also used to transport construction materials on and offthe airport to minimize the impact on roadways.An on-site concrete crusher allows most of the concrete that isremoved from the existing airport infrastructure to be reused onthe project, Nilsson notes. Additionally, an on-site system filtersgroundwater that is pumped from the site, and some is reused inlightweight cellular concrete fill, a solution that helps improve thestability of construction site soil.Additional BenefitsCareful phasing has been and will continue to be critical in movingthe project along with minimal impact to travelers, Nilsson notes.LGA21Construction of the Western Concourse is divided into two phasesto continue accommodating airline operations.Incorporating various sustainability aspects, officials will seekSilver certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Designfrom the U.S. Green Building Council for the new Terminal B.“It’s a different class,” Nilsson says of the facility improvements. “Ithink we’re raising the standard of what an airport should look like.”The program’s goal for overall participation by minority andwomen-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) is 680 million. “Todate, we have paid out over half a billion to MWBEs in the NewYork metro market,” Villari reports. “That is a tremendous stimulusto that market.”To assist the program and its participants, Skanskaimplemented a program it calls Building Blocks, designed toprovide participants with knowledge and resources to helpscale their businesses from local projects to large LGA projects.Ultimately, Villari states, this project will not only create a newfacility for passengers, but also a stronger, larger local MWBEmarket.Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.AirportImprovement.comFor reprints please contact the Publisher.March April 2019
LGA 15 AIovement.com M A TEARSLI M FACTS&FIGURES Project: New Eastern Concourse Location: LaGuardia Int'l Airport, Terminal B Cost: Part of 4 billion construction project for new Terminal B Size: 243,000 sq. ft. Gates: 11 initially; 7 more by mid-2019 Airport Owner: Port Authority of New York & New Jersey LaGuardia Gateway Partners: Vantage Airport Group; Skanska USA; Meridiam; JLC
