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Delta Air Lines LGA Airfield Reconfiguration Program
Delta Air Lines LGA Airfield Reconfiguration Program
East Elmhurst, N.Y.
Airport/Transit
Submitted by: Turner Construction and STV/Satterfield & Pontikes Construction
Region: ENR East
Owner: Delta Air Lines
Design: Gensler and Corgan
Construction Managers: Turner Construction, STV/Satterfield & Pontikes Construction JV; Group PMX
Design, Structural and MEP Engineer: Arup
Design, Civil, Structural and MEP Engineer: Burns & McDonnell
The Delta Air Lines airfield reconfiguration program at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, part of a larger Port Authority of New York and New Jersey improvement program, replaced aging Terminals C and D with a re-imagined Terminal C. It cost about $4 billion for a new headhouse, concourses, taxi lanes, bridgework and roadway deck.
With the phased opening of the light-filled terminal and its soaring ceilings, travel journalists had lavish praise. “A total oasis compared to the old, cramped maze,” a business traveler told Forbes Magazine. The terminal “feels more museum than airport,” and Terminal C “will make you want to show up early,” added Condé Nast Traveler.
Photo by Vu Quang Tran, courtesy Turner Construction and STV/Satterfield & Pontikes Construction
While the several agency-style construction managers handled bidding, vetting and award recommendations, Delta approved and held direct contracts with each firm selected, says Ryan Marzullo, the airline’s managing director of design and construction. Multiple primes were selected, and Delta team members also worked on all phases of the work.
New York State and the port authority had set a combined MWBE goal of 30%, but the project hit 38%, or about $1.5 billion in contracts. Those contracts included the project paymaster—which also provided general labor and carpentry services—a key civil contractor and others who were subs and vendors to non-MWBE firms, says Marzullo.
The light- and artwork-filled new Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport “will make you want to show up early,” said Condé Nast Traveler.
Photo by Vu Quang Tran, courtesy Turner Construction and STV/Satterfield & Pontikes Construction
Among the area firms that found work on the terminal project were Celtic Sheet Metal, a woman-owned business based in Orangeburg, N.Y., which specializes in HVAC fabrication and installation, and New York City-based RCGA Architects, a longtime designer and construction services firm, based in the borough of Queens. Even the project’s strategic communications firm, Write It Up!, is a certified MWBE. Says Marzullo: “They are a great example of a small firm that helped us tremendously on the program.”
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