Concord receives $2.5 million federal grant for new airport terminal

The terminal of Concord airport has received a much-needed makeover and airport manager David Rolla is glad to put the comments made by presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2001 behind him. The waiting area at the terminal got a total upgrade. GEOFF FORESTER—File

Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis sits at the Concord, N.H., Airport in July 1927 where Lindbergh landed after his tour of America. (AP Photo) MONITOR—File

Designs for a new terminal at Concord Municipal Airport feature large windows facing the runway. The city recently received a $2.5 million federal grant towards the project. Courtesy photo—

By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN

Monitor staff

Published: 02-19-2024 1:06 PM

Concord received a $2.5 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to help pay for the construction of a new terminal at the Municipal Airport.

The city has envisioned replacing the terminal at its airport since 2006, and plans gained momentum with a study in 2019, according to city reports. The Concord City Council voted in early 2021 to move forward with construction.

The current terminal was built in 1938 and renovated in 1961, and it currently has significant code violations and safety deficiencies, a city report states. After its demolition, designs call for a 5,450-square-foot building with a modern design and floor-to-ceiling windows and a new parking lot. The new building’s footprint is next to the current one, providing a better vantage point of the runway from its interior and creating space for a new hangar on the old footprint.

The project carries a $3.96 million price tag, the majority of which is set to be covered by federal and state grant funds like this one, according to a city report. Expenses to the city are expected to total about $198,000.

Concord is one of 114 recipients this year for funds through the FAA’s Airport Terminal Program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.