New CLE Chief Offers Update on Plans for New Terminal, Parking Crunch, Burke and More
CLEVELAND, Ohio – He’s only been on the job four months, but the new director of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport already understands what frequent travelers have known for years.
Cleveland Hopkins is an aging, cramped facility that is long overdue for a rebuild.
“I think we are doing well with what we have to work with,” said Cleveland’s new Director of Port Control Bryant Francis, who started in May. “By that I mean we’re operating within facilities that are aging, that need extensive attention, that need modernization, that need to be improved, enhanced for not only the traveling public, but for those who work here. We all want to experience and enjoy the benefits of a better overall experience here.”
Francis arrived at a critical time for the airport – as the facility gears up for a major rebuild of the terminal, with construction slated to start in 2025.
When he arrived this spring, airport officials were in the middle of negotiating with the airlines at Hopkins, which are expected to fund the bulk of the project.
Francis said he anticipates the city will reach an agreement with the airlines later this year on both the broad outlines of the project, as well as a mechanism for paying for it.
“We all want to create a better user experience,” he said. “It comes down to the approach that we take in getting there.”
If all goes according to plan, the airport is expected to hire a design firm in 2024 to start formalizing plans for the new terminal, with construction starting in 2025 – the centennial anniversary of Cleveland Hopkins, which opened in 1925 as the first city-owned airport in the United States.
“Wouldn’t that be fantastic timing,” said Francis, in a wide-ranging interview in his office overlooking the airfield.
In addition to providing an update on plans to rebuild the terminal, Francis offered these updates on existing projects:
* The construction project that has closed much of the 4,240-space Smart Parking Garage for about a year should be complete next month, easing an ongoing parking crunch at the airport. “The garage will be 100% available to the public before the holiday rush,” he said.
* The shuttered Sheraton Cleveland Airport Hotel, closed in 2022, should be torn down in the first half of next year, with more parking coming soon after. The city last year terminated the lease with the private operator of the hotel, and shut down the deteriorating building. Francis said he hopes additional parking can be added to the site by summer 2024.
* Two studies looking at the future of downtown’s Burke Lakefront Airport should be complete early next year. One is looking at any potential aviation impact of a possible closure; the other is studying potential alternative uses of the airport land, which occupies a prime lakefront spot just east of downtown.
Francis declined to offer any opinion on the controversial topic of closing Burke, other than to say: “I’m interested to see what the results of these studies reveal. Ultimately what I want is for Cleveland and this region to thrive. We’ll have lots of discussions on that in 2024.”
He also noted that Cleveland Hopkins is almost back to 2019 passenger levels, the year before the coronavirus pandemic upended the industry. In 2019, the airport welcomed just over 10 million passengers, the most since 2008, when Continental Airlines operated a hub at Hopkins.
Through July, the airport has welcomed 5.6 million passengers, about 4% fewer than during the same period in 2019.
“If we don’t hit 10 million, we will be incredibly close,” said Francis. “It’s going to come down to December.”
Francis came to Cleveland after seven years overseeing the Oakland, California, airport. Before that, he worked at airports in Long Beach, California; Shreveport, Louisiana; Detroit, Atlanta and Boise, Idaho.
Francis, 50, is currently renting a house in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood, about equidistant between Cleveland Hopkins and Cleveland City Hall. With a salary of $365,000, Francis is the highest paid member of Mayor Justin Bibb’s staff.
He replaced Robert Kennedy, director of Cleveland airports from 2017 through 2022, who oversaw the development of the new airport master plan, which outlines a series of $2 billion in capital improvements to the terminal, parking, roadways and other infrastructure.
The rebuilding of the terminal – considered the most critical part of the plan – will be done in stages. The first phase of the project – which includes new concourses, centralized security checkpoints, a new ticketing area, a better-organized U.S. customs facility and more – has an estimated price tag of about $800 million.
Baiju Shah, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, said the business community is eager to work with Francis on the terminal project, as well as ongoing efforts to attract new air service to the region.
“We are excited about his focus on bringing Cleveland Hopkins truly into the 21st century,” Shah said. “We know that he and his team are focused on not only the master plan, but putting in place the financial arrangements with the carriers that will enable the master plan to move forward. We think that’s essential for the region’s economic growth.”
Even before work begins on the terminal rebuild, Francis is hoping to make some short-term improvements to the facility.
“We’re looking at some improvements to give us a little better curb appeal,” he said, which might include adding some color, greenery or other cosmetic changes to both the departures and arrivals levels. “I don’t want to get too specific, but there could be some very simple things that could have a very positive effect,” he said.
In addition, a $2 million restroom renovation project, announced in March, is expected to get underway later this year.
But it’s the bigger improvements that are expected to take up the bulk of Francis’ time in the coming months and years.
Unlike some other recent airport projects – including new terminals in Kansas City and New Orleans, which used adjacent land for new construction – Cleveland is forced to rebuild on its existing footprint due to nearby highways and other physical constraints.
Renovating and rebuilding the terminal while it is being used will present some challenges, said Francis, and likely will extend the construction timeline. It could take as long as a decade before the project is complete.
“We don’t have the luxury of having a couple hundred acres next door,” said Francis. “It will take a number of years to work through the program.”
But the end result, he said, will be worth it.
“Better days are coming,” he said. “I look forward to a day when our concourses are more spacious, more airy, lighter and brighter.”
He added: “We will ultimately make very meaningful changes to the experience at Hopkins. The end result will be transformative.”
Read more:
Cleveland Hopkins officials begin talks with airlines to finance new $2 billion airport rebuild
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