Island's Airport Terminal To Be Remodeled, Enlarged

Floor plans of Mackinac Island's airport terminal building following remodeling. The project is expected to be completed by May 2007.

Bringing a bit of New England to the north woods, a new Mackinac Island airport building will sport a colonialstyle cupola on the roof and a porte-cochere at the entrance. The east side of the building will provide a covered area for outbound and inbound luggage and freight.

Architectural drawings of the building were passed out Friday, July 21, at the Mackinac Island State Park Commission meeting at Fort Mackinac. The commission operates Mackinac Island's airport.

The building will be extended by 12 feet to accommodate a larger waiting room, which can be crowded during the winter, said park Director Phil Porter. The new waiting room will have a television, which he said Island residents had requested.

Restrooms will be moved, an additional unisex bathroom will be added, and all three will become handicap accessible. A pilots' lounge is also included in the plans.

"This should be a major improvement for the community and a welcome addition by yeararound residents as well as visitors," said Commission Chairman Dennis Cawthorne.

The $500,000 project is federally funded through the Michigan Bureau of Aeronautics.

The work will be done by park staff, which will cost less than if the state hired a contractor and is similar to a previous successful arrangement that the commission had made with the state during the construction of a storage building, explained Mr. Porter.

"This keeps the money internally and helps us pay for our staff," he said. "We get a great product, and they actually pay us to build our own building."

The two-phase project has begun. The first phase involves moving the airport's electrical vault out of the terminal building and into its own structure east of the terminal.

The remodeling of the terminal building is expected to be finished by May 2007.

At left, an architect's drawing of Mackinac Island's airport terminal building, which is being remodeled and will serve as a gateway offering an enhanced first impression to the Island's air arriving visitors.