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Cleveland Airport Systems entered into the next phase of its terminal modernization program, engaging Paslay Group, a premier airport development consultancy. Paslay Group will utilize its Executive Program Management service to help with the planning, implementation and deliverance of the city's terminal modernization program.
The next phase in the program will focus on upgrades for the Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport (CLE) 1950s-era main terminal and concourses, improved ticketing and check-in spaces and expanded security checkpoint. Through the program, there will also be improved roadways. A ground transportation center, an increase in the number of walkable public parking spaces, a consolidated rental car facility and improved transit system accessibility and convenience.
The airport plans to hire a design firm in 2024 to help formalize plans for the new terminal and start early construction work in 2025. The construction work is planned to coincide with the centennial anniversary of CLE. CLE opened in 1925 as the first city-owned airport in the United States. The almost 100-year-old airport brings in about $3.5 billion to the Northeast Ohio economy and generates over 34,000 jobs. The airport is estimated to have served about 10 million passengers in 2023, bringing CLE back to pre-pandemic numbers. CLE is the primary airport in the Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio area and the largest and busiest in the state. The airport is located nine miles southwest of Downtown Cleveland and adjacent to the Glenn Research Center, a major NASA field center.
Paslay Group's Executive Program Management Division will lead CLE engagement. The division partnered with Corgan, an architecture and design firm, and Connico, which specializes in cost-estimating, scheduling and phasing airports across the nation. The EPM team includes numerous Cleveland-based firms. Robert P. Madison International will provide design services, Van Auken Akins Architects will assist with design, McGuiness Unlimited, Inc. will provide project controls support, and Regency Construction Services, Inc. will provide cost estimating and scheduling services.
"We are pleased to partner with the Paslay Group as an essential next step in the planning effort toward implementation of our Terminal Modernization Development Program," said Bryant L. Francis, C.M., director of Port Control, who oversees CLE. "The Paslay team has demonstrated expertise in advising executive airport leadership on numerous large-scale terminal programs nationwide and is well positioned to assist us in this endeavor. Our commitment remains focused on engagement with our airline partners concerning all elements of the proposed program. It will transform the customer experience by modernizing our aging facilities and increasing operational efficiency, representing a tremendous public benefit while generating greater local economic impact."
The CLE EPM team is supported by R. Clay Paslay, CEO and managing partner of Paslay Group; Paul Blue, PG EPM division president and partner; Paslay Group Partner Mark Skjervem; and Paslay Group Principal Jim Bennett. These individuals have extensive experience as airport executives and consultants to complex, capital development programs. The team will be led by Terry Cassidy, a PG Principal who served five years as the firm's Executive Program Manager for the $1.5 billion Build KCI Terminal Modernization Program that opened in February 2023.
"Paslay Group welcomes this extraordinary opportunity to support the City of Cleveland and the Department of Port Control executive leaders as they begin to transform one of the region's essential engines of economic development," Blue said. "Our firm comprises airport development professionals with extensive experience and a passion for helping our clients translate their vision into action. We look forward to helping Cleveland develop beautiful and efficient airport facilities with the highest regard for customer service."