New airport terminal expected to be move-in ready June 15, to be economic tool – The Robesonian

LUMBERTON The new $3.7 million terminal at the Lumberton Regional Airport will be move-in ready by June 15, airport management and contractors said Friday.

Ground was first broke almost exactly a year ago in April for the terminal, located at 163 Airport Blvd., after the nearly 50-year-old building was demolished. The new two-story building will boast 8,000 square feet, more than twice the 3,000 square feet of the previous one.

The project is funded through state and federal grants, with matching funds coming from the city of Lumberton and the Robeson County Board of Commissioners.

Airport Manager Bob Snuck said the building is nearly complete and offices will be move-in ready by June 15.

The entire building is framed, Snuck said. Most of the electrical is in, the Sheet Rock is in. Its 90% complete.

On Friday morning the weather was ideal for United Builders of Lumberton workers who are subcontracted by Simcon Company, the projects general contractor.

We still got to do the siding on the outside, Simcon Project Superintendent Brent Williams said. Inside we got to do the painting and the trim.

Adding flooring and redoing the parking lot also are on the agenda, Williams said.

Williams has been living in Lumberton overseeing construction on the project for the past year.

Were staying on track, Williams said. Were getting there slowly but surely.

Williams said that COVID-19 restrictions have made the process tougher, but he feels confident.

I dont want to put no more than 10 people on the job, he said. I dont want to subject nobody to getting sick, so were trying to keep our numbers down.

The building will be a major economic boost for the county and will house the Robeson County Economic Development office.

A lot of people dont realize the benefit of the airport, Snuck said. For economic development, an airport is a major driver. If you have any major corporation, theyre going to have cooperate aircraft that fly in and out of here, and we have corporate aircraft that fly in and out of here.

This is going to make a statement for the whole county area having this nice building and nice offices, especially when youre trying to attract new businesses.

The executive director of Robeson County Economic Development said it will make his job a lot easier when courting potential clients to the county.

Im very excited about moving into the new building and having a meeting room, Channing Jones said. Its a wonderful opportunity for economic development just for the fact of being able to have meetings in a way that is impressive and very professional for companies coming in.

In addition to meeting rooms and offices, the interior will include state-of-the-art equipment to be able to give world-class presentation to clients, Jones said. It will also have space in which to entertain guests.

Things that weve incorporated in the building are going to be very useful for myself personally to host clients, Jones said.

The buildings modern exterior also will leave a positive image with clients who enter.

If you look at it from the top of the building, when the architects designed it, they designed it to look like a plane wing, Jones said. Itll be very unique in just its design. I think the city of Lumberton and the county will have something to be very proud of once its complete.

On the construction site Friday, workers were applying the siding to obtain the unique shape.

They wanted a building that really hasnt been built before, and I think they did a really good job on designing it, Williams said. Its quite the building.

Snuck said that in 2019, the State of North Carolina did a study that showed the economic impact of airports. The study found that the Lumberton airport brings in $14.2 million locally.

Theres a huge economic benefit to the local community, he said.

Jones confirmed that it will impact the county greatly.

Obviously for the city of Lumberton and for the county its going to be a great welcome center for folks who are coming in via plane, Jones said. Its going to be a great first impression of our county. It will be an attribute in attracting business and having confidence that our county is well positioned for various economic development opportunities.

The airport has two runways, one 5,500 feet long, the other 5,000 feet long. There are 35 airplane hangers on the airports property.

The next big airport project will be replacing the existing fuel farm. The original fuel farm was build more than 40 years ago and not for aviation purposes, but as an oil storage tank and it was converted, he said.

They dont meet many of the new requirements, and weve been spending a lot of money repairing leaks, Snuck said.

The total cost would be about $1.1 million, but the airport recently was awarded a $112,500 grant by the state Department of Transportations Division of Aviation to pay for the fuel farm engineering study, Snuck said. The local share of the grant is $12,500.

Its really difficult to get the engineering funding and I managed to get it, Snuck said. Usually, if you get the engineering funding, its shortly down the road that youll get the construction funding.

The fuel farm would consist of two 12,000 gallon tanks. One to hold jet fuel and the other to hold aviation gasoline.

That fuel farm is used to fill up the fuel trucks because you buy fuel in quantity, Snuck said. Also, that fuel farm will have self-service capability like you would have self-service capability at a gas station where the aircraft can pull up and get fuel.

Snuck said he will soon be going before city council and county commissioners to speak about the project.

Snuck

Jones

Williams

United Builders of Lumberton workers apply siding Friday on the $3.7 million terminal being built at the Lumberton Regional Airport. The terminal, which will house the office of Robeson County Economic Development, is scheduled to be completed on June 15.

ORyan Campbell, a plumber for Wilkins Plumbing, lays pipes for a bathroom in the new terminal building under construction at the Lumberton Regional Airport. The terminal is scheduled to be move-in ready on June 15.

The $3.7 million terminal under construction at Lumberton Regional Airport is expected to be move-in ready by June 15. The two-story building will be 8,000 square feet in size, more than twice the size of previous 3,000-square-foot terminal.

Expected to be move-in ready June 15

Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at [emailprotected] or 910-416-5865.

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New airport terminal expected to be move-in ready June 15, to be economic tool - The Robesonian