Horry Crosses Fingers for Myrtle Beach Airport Funds
Construction of a new terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport now depends heavily on federal funding after the estimated price climbed this month to $228.8 million, County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland said Tuesday.
The county had budgeted $200 million for a stripped-down version of the terminal in July and figured in funding help from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Gilland said Horry County is now asking for a total of $56 million from the FAA.
The agency was expected to announce in the fall whether it would help finance the terminal, but there has been no word yet.
With design plans already scaled back and the terminal cost higher than expected, the FAA funding decision likely will be the basis for where the project goes from here.
"Once we know something from them, that will give us a goal number to reach," Gil-
land said. "If we can't reach it, we will all know it together that we cannot do this terminal because we are not going to put the taxpayers at risk."
Gilland traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to lobby federal lawmakers for help with the funding. She said the county could be closer to getting the federal funding it's asking for, though how close still is unclear.
Supporters say a 14-gate airport terminal is necessary to grow the area's biggest industry, tourism. The project has been dogged for more than a year with increasing costs and delays.
Increases in the price of steel and concrete pushed estimated costs as high as $254 million a year ago.
That caused County Council to slam on the brakes last summer and eliminate some features, such as a second taxiway and a fully equipped customs center.
The county hit a new delay when it fired its terminal architect, HNTB Architecture Inc. of Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5. The two wrangled for months over an additional $7.85 million to $8.75 million the company said it was owed for terminal design and construction oversight.
The search will begin for a new terminal design firm while the county waits for word on the FAA funding.
County Attorney John Weaver said he will propose amending the contract with the project's lead contractor, Skanska USA, next week to allow the company to hire a new architect.
That could avoid a lengthy county bidding process and eliminate some of the delay from the firing.
Councilman Mark Lazarus said he is "highly confident" that FAA funding eventually will come through.
"They are in. I think they are just trying to figure out what is fundable," Lazarus said.
He said the estimated price tag of $228.8 million is close to what the county is likely to pay and he is not in favor of cutting more features from the terminal design.
Councilman Marion Foxworth said the financing for the project is like an algebra equation - a complex mix of factors must be balanced on each side by funding coming to the county and money spent on building the terminal.
The FAA funding is a major piece of the equation, he said, but other important revenue pieces include future lease and sale of airport property.
The county is now seeking a consultant to figure out the best use of that property and how much money could be made.
Foxworth said he is still looking for reassurance that the project can work financially.
"This has been a hard project from beginning to end," he said.
The full County Council could discuss the project as early as Tuesday when it has a regularly scheduled meeting.
Original cost estimate | $185 million
Peak estimate, given in May | $253 million
Current estimate | $228.8 million
Number of gates | 14
Where | On land adjacent to the existing airport
Who pays | $120 million raised locally, federal funding from Federal Aviation Administration still unknown
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