Miguel Southwell, MIA's deputy director for business retention and development, expects Airport City to ultimately net $7 million in annual revenue, complementing income from $1.2-billion worth of commercial construction projects at and adjacent to MIA-owned general aviation facilities; these deals have been negotiated over the past four years.

“We're trying to find ways to meet all funding needs for expansion, modernization and security mandates without putting an additional burden on passengers and carriers,” Southwell says. “Though diversifying our revenue stream with P3s helps, we're mindful of the need to preserve sufficient land to fulfill our primary purpose, which is the safe and efficient operation of an airport.”

Not all major airport expansion programs are lowering their horizons. A $4-billion improvement program will likely keep Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) a hub of construction activity for the foreseeable future.

LAX projects include Bradley West International Terminal's $1.5-billion, 1.1-million-sq-ft expansion, which will accommodate Group 6 aircraft; a new central utilities plant and underground infrastructure, and multiple new and realigned taxiways aimed at relieving an expected uptick in aviation traffic.

Even with the forecast opening of Bradley West next year, Los Angeles World Airports Deputy Executive Director Roger Johnson does not predict a slackening of construction activity. In addition to spending $500 million to $750 million in construction in 2013, LAX's tenants are undertaking projects of their own. “We should see overall construction activity close to $1 billion a year for the next two to three years,” Johnson says.

A similar outlook exists next door in Orange County, where John Wayne Airport is wrapping up a $291.5-million program that includes a new six-gate terminal, a parking structure and a central utility plant.

“We won't be spending hundreds of millions of dollars anymore, but we do expect to be spending as much as $30 million a year for awhile,” says Airport Director Alan Murphy.

Still, airport owners agree that the immediate and long-term future of facilities development is likely to be significantly different from the past.

“All airports need to think differently,” Johnson says, noting his agency is making greater use of design-build and construction manager-at-risk for project delivery.

“Airports need people with the ability to incorporate uncertainty into their planning horizons,” Oswald says. “The visionary with a grandiose concept for aiport development is less valued now.”