The old and aging air traffic control tower at Key West International Airport is finally being demolished, after years of neglect and becoming an eyesore for locals and tourists.
However, there is no timeframe for when it will be replaced with a new permanent structure and air traffic control workers will continue to work out of a small, temporary facility that was placed at the airport several years ago.
“The FAA is reviewing a design concept for the new Key West International Airport Control Tower,” the Federal Aviation Administration stated in an email to The Keys Citizen. “The entire procurement process, from development to award, may take as long as a year.”
About a year ago, the FAA announced that the agency was asking for public comments on the environmental assessment to replace 31 outdated airport traffic control towers at smaller airports across the country, including the one in Key West.
The FAA has set aside more than $500 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support site evaluation, preparation and early construction activities, according to the FAA.
These would replace towers functioning beyond their intended design life, the FAA stated in a news release. They will incorporate key sustainability elements such as all-electric building systems, materials and products free from chemicals known to pose health risks, a thermally efficient facade, high-recycled steel and metal products, renewable mass timber when usable, and ground-source heating and cooling in some environments.
The towers, designed by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism of New York, will range in height from 60 to 119 feet, according to the FAA.
Work on the tower at Key West International Airport was started in 2017 and was expected to be completed by the spring of 2019, but the completion date was pushed back to 2022, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told The Keys Citizen in 2019. However, the project has never been completed and very little work, if any, has been done in years.
The work took longer than expected, as engineers found structural issues that needed repair but were not part of the initial project, Bergen said.
The FAA had planned on conducting renovations to the tower prior to Hurricane Irma, but the Category 4 storm significantly damaged the tower and made it impossible for the controllers to continue working there, the FAA said at that time.
Just after the hurricane made landfall on Sept. 10, 2017, controllers were moved to a portable, temporary tower at the end of the runway. The portable tower still remains operational there.
The project is not tied to the current roughly $114 million Concourse A Terminal Expansion Program. The Terminal Expansion Program will include renovations and improvements to the terminal building to accommodate an expanded security checkpoint with four lanes and added support spaces, as well as improved accessibility features including a new administrative bridge.
Construction crews just completed installation of the building’s glass curtain wall, and the passenger jet bridges are expected to arrive this month, County Director of Airports Richard Strickland said.
The new concourse is scheduled to open in April 2025. Construction began in late 2022 and updates can be viewed at eyw.com/concourse-a.
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