Asheville Airport's $361M Terminal Overhaul Nears Completion in 2027
Asheville Regional Airport’s $361-million terminal modernization program is entering its final stretch, with completion expected in late 2027, ENR reports. The project, designed by Gresham Smith and built by construction manager-at-risk Hensel Phelps, expands the airport’s aging 115,000-sq-ft terminal into a 362,500-sq-ft, 12-gate facility with an upper-level concourse, eight-lane security checkpoint and additional airside parking. A separate $55-million air traffic control tower, built by J. Kokolakis Construction, was commissioned last summer, clearing the way for demolition of the legacy tower and accelerated work on the terminal’s second phase. Plans call for the central checkpoint, ticketing and concession areas to finish this fall, with the south side’s five gates opening in 2027. A 7,500-sq-ft central energy plant is also under construction to support the new terminal.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Remaining scopes include the loading dock conversion of the temporary TSA checkpoint, south-side gate buildout and central energy plant completion, work likely to draw mechanical, electrical and civil subs through 2027.
- Contractors bidding into active airport programs should note Hensel Phelps’s use of 4D BIM and augmented reality for “microphasing,” a model other CM-at-risk teams may require to keep trades sequenced around live terminal operations.
- Finish-out packages include specialty scopes like electrochromic glazing on a 12,000-sq-ft curtainwall and a living wall installation in baggage claim, openings for glazing and specialty finish subcontractors as the design team, Gresham Smith, finalizes interior buildout.
