LaGuardia set for sweeping changes

LaGuardia set for sweeping changes

A design panel commissioned by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has recommended sweeping changes to the LaGuardia International Airport, including the creation of a “great hall” to serve as the main entrance to the much-derided airport.

The entrance would be located in the central terminal building, which was built in 1964 and is listed for a $US3.6 billion ($A4.6 billion) renovation. The panel also recommended creating seamless connections between terminals, adding a new air train station and building a hotel on airport grounds.

The ideas were generated from submissions to a public design competition that Cuomo announced in October when he called on designers from across the globe to reimagine LaGuardia as a “21st-century airport”.

“The new LaGuardia should include a main entrance to the airport that serves as a great hall welcoming travellers to a great new experience at the airport,” said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the region’s airports.

Foye discussed the panel’s recommendations – sent in a letter to the Port Authority – at the agency’s board of commissioners meeting in April.

The panel also recommended creating a mobile phone waiting area for people who are picking up arriving passengers.

The renovation project has been delayed several times because the Port Authority has been unable to choose between two remaining bidders until the governor’s office selects a winner of the competition. The bidding process has been delayed one final time – until May 28 – when the agency will announce which firm it has chosen, Foye said. The winner of the design competition will be revealed in June.

Foye said the two remaining bidders have until May 11 to report back to the agency with estimates on how much it would cost to build the terminal with the panel’s recommendations – and how long that would take. The terminal is expected to be complete by 2021.

Vice-President Joe Biden famously described LaGuardia as reminiscent of a “third-world country” last year.

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