The Northwest Regional Airport Authority (NRAA) has plans for a $121 million expansion project at Cherry Capital Airport.
NRAA was at a community meeting Tuesday night in Suttons Bay to share the plans which expected to triple the airport facility in size.
The origins of the airport go back to 1936, when the airport was located near Memorial Gardens on Veterans Drive in Traverse City.
Years later, the airport relocated to its current area and has taken on many configurations since. In 2004, a relocation, with access moved to South Airport Road, was designed to accommodate 250,000 to 300,000 fliers per year. By 2023, the annual total had grown to 700,699 and passenger numbers for 2024 indicate that the total number of passengers has doubled to roughly 800,000 per year, making it the third-busiest airport in the state.
The Transportation Security Administration security areas, baggage claim and car rental facilities are crowded.
Plans call for an 80,000-square foot terminal expansion — the existing 20-year-old terminal is 121,000 square feet — which would include five additional jet bridges in addition to the five existing bridges, along with construction of a second concourse and a connector building between the existing and new structures.
As proposed multi-year project, which will begin in 2026 and conclude in 2028.
No taxpayer dollars will be expended. Instead the project will be paid for with funds from the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, along with bond funds repaid with a $4.50-per-passenger facility charge levied on airport travelers.
Pursuit of this project makes sense. The Grand Traverse region is booming all around us and as people all over the country (and world) discover the beauty and cultural attractions in nature’s playground, the demand for additional flights will only grow.
The economic impact of TVC Airport on the area in 2016 was more than $1 billion dollars.
And with our tourist-based economy, our businesses are ready to handle the additional visitors.
