HIGHFILL -- Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport officials have agreed to ask bankers, lenders and bond underwriters to submit options to help them pay for a new four-story parking deck.
"We're after people to give us their thoughts because they do this all the time," Stan Green, a member of the Airport Authority board, said Aug. 31 at a special board meeting.
The request for responses will go out immediately and responses are due Oct. 3. Board members want to have a funding plan in place by the end of the year.
The board earlier this year approved plans for a 1,400 parking space, four-level parking deck with a roof.
Money to pay for the deck has been expected to come from $35 million worth of bonds and a possible increase in the customer facilities fee to car rental companies. But, officials said financial institutions responding to their request may come up with other options and strategies to pay for the deck.
The deck will be built in front of the terminal where parking lots are located. Construction is expected in 2017. The board agreed in March to pay Nabholz Construction $1.5 million for design work and related services for the deck.
The structure is also expected to house car rental companies initially. A second deck likely will be added for car rental companies in three to five years, airport officials have said.
The request for responses also mentions other capital projects the authority wants to do over the next few years, including an access road, the second parking deck and improvements to the terminal, along with financial information about the authority's debt and income.
Directors hope including the other projects will pique the interest of lenders who may be interested in doing more business with the airport as part of a longer-term package deal.
General News on 09/07/2016