Palmer airport still seeking $7 million for terminal expansion

Expansion plans for the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport terminal have been stuck in a holding pattern the past several months because of a $7 million shortfall in funds needed for the $21 million project, an airport official said.

The Westmoreland County Airport Authority has received commitments for about $14 million to expand the terminal, but it still needs to secure as much as $8 million for the project, said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the airport authority.

The authority in October asked county commissioners for money from its $105 million allocation of American Rescue Plan funding that Congress passed last year, but no decision has been made.

The commissioners — Gina Cerilli Thrasher, Sean Kertes and Doug Chew — could not be reached for comment.

The project, in the works for more than four years, would allow the airport in Unity to double the size of the terminal, with a two-story addition at the northern end of the building. With the extra space, the airport would be able to increase the number of passenger boarding bridges from two to four and add one more security checkpoint to the existing one.

More than 14,000 square feet would be added on each of the terminal’s two floors, allowing space that could be leased to concession tenants, generating additional revenue for the authority while providing products and services to airport users.

The Airport Terminal Program funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 has about $1 billion in competitive grants available in the current federal fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, as well as for the next four fiscal years through 2026, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. March 28 is the deadline to apply for those funds, the FAA said.

Airports apply directly through the FAA for that money, said Alexis Campbell, a PennDOT spokeswoman.

Airports may be able to generate more revenue if the General Assembly passes a bill that would offer incentives to businesses that develop airport property. The Airport Development Land Zone bill, which was passed in the Senate in December and is in the House Commerce Committee, would give employers annual tax credits of $2,100 for 10 years of a 20-year period, for each new employee who is hired after Jan. 1, 2022, who works at an airport site.

The Arnold Palmer Regional Airport has 750 acres inside the fenced-in area of the airport, Monzo said. Land could be developed for businesses on the terminal side of the airport, as well as off the western edge of the runway, which is currently a wooded area, Monzo said.