New Boundary Bay Airport terminal takes off
Boundary Bay Airport’s new terminal building is expected to be completed by early 2010.
It’s wheels up on the project to build a new terminal building at Boundary Bay Airport.
On Tuesday (April 21) Mayor Lois Jackson joined officials from airport lease holder Alpha Aviation to announce that the new $5-million, 15,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed early next year.
“I am looking forward to some very good things from this little airport,” said Jackson at the announcement. “We talk about our little hospital in Delta that could and this is the little airport in Delta that can.”
Jackson added she is happy that Alpha Aviation – which assumed the airport lease in December 2004 – is moving along with its plans to help capitalize on the expected air traffic created by the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and beyond.
Jackson said the airport is well-situated between Victoria and points north and east to serve as an air transportation hub.
“I think people have overlooked Boundary Bay Airport for a long time,” she said.
She dismissed the idea a busier airport will mean more noise complaints from adjacent residents.
“We are the fifth-busiest airport in Canada because of the (flight) training centre. The people are used to having the smaller planes,” Jackson said. “The small trainers are much noisier than the any small jet coming in or taking off.”Fred Kaiser, chairman of Alpha Aviation said the announcement is an exciting day for the community, “because we have taken this diamond in the rough and we keep polishing and enlarging and improving and making things better.”
Kaiser added the value of the airport is concurrently on the rise, and not strictly in financial measurements, “but in terms of utilization, convenience and enjoyment.”
The new terminal, which will replace a collection of outdated portable buildings, will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified.
Among the “green” initiatives will be a roof that will act as a rainwater collector for the building’s surrounding landscaping.
Alpha Aviation president Lynda Hogarth said the development of a new terminal will put the airport firmly on the map.
“There’s lot of other people who have said they’d be interested in coming here if there was a new terminal building.”
editor@southdeltaleader.com