After months of negotiations with airlines over the massive, delayed rebuild of O’Hare International Airport, city officials are proposing a path forward with a key change.
In a letter to airlines this week, the city proposed changing the sequencing of construction on a new Global Terminal and nearby satellite concourses, opting to “accelerate the completion of the Global Terminal,” which is set to replace aging Terminal 2, city Chief Operating Officer John Roberson told the Tribune. Initially, the plan was to build two satellite concourses first, which would have added gate space for airlines to use while Terminal 2 was torn down and replaced with the Global Terminal.
A change in the order of construction had been sought by airlines during months of contentious negotiations with the city over the rebuild, as they sought to ensure the new terminal wasn’t threatened by future budget issues. O’Hare’s two main carriers, American and United, had pushed back against rising construction costs at the airport, a key piece of the city’s economy and a hub in the nation’s air system.
The airlines signed off on an $8.5 billion overhaul of the airport in 2018. The main feature of the rebuild was the soaring, 2.2 million-square-foot Global Terminal, designed by a team led by architect Jeanne Gang, which would more than double the space of the current Terminal 2 and add additional gates, and allow travelers to move more seamlessly between domestic and international flights.
But costs, largely financed by city bonds backed by airline fees, ballooned, and the project fell significantly behind schedule.
The city would not provide a copy of the letter sent to the airlines this week, but Roberson said that under the latest proposal, the full project agreed upon in 2018, including both satellite concourses, will be built.
“It also provides the airport with the capacity for growth so that we can be competitive with our other airport peers around the world,” he said. “And it is absolutely critical that we move forward with the implementation of this so that we can remain competitive and make sure that we are positioning O’Hare to be a key driver of our economic development process locally.”
In a joint statement, United and American airlines said they were still reviewing the proposal.
“The City has indicated that they are looking at all options to get an on-budget (terminal project) moving forward, one being sequencing the project to deliver the most impactful elements the quickest. The Global Terminal has always been the centerpiece of this program and the most critical piece needed to ensure Chicago maintains its status as a global hub,” the carriers said.
Ald. Matt O’Shea, 19th, chair of the City Council’s Aviation Committee, praised the revised phasing plan as “great news.”
“This is about airlines and government collaborating, looking out for airline passengers and modernizing,” he said. “We want to make sure we get this right. That we’re keeping this under budget, we’re avoiding cost overruns, but we’re also remaining competitive.”
When asked if any parts of the project could be not built if development goes over budget, O’Shea said the Department of Aviation has committed to building all major parts of the project within its budget.
“I think we move forward,” he said. “Everyone wanted a Cadillac fully loaded. And it’s not going to be that, but we’re going to modernize it, we’re going to allow for growth and we’re going to stay competitive.”
In an op-ed in the Tribune last month, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin called for both satellite terminals to be built along with the Global Terminal, writing that the satellites made up the bulk of the new gate capacity and accusing the airlines of wanting to “build only the part of the project that benefits them and doesn’t increase competition.”
“This means putting off the construction of both satellite terminals to focus on the Global Terminal,” he wrote. “For a price tag still in the billions of dollars, O’Hare would gain two new gates in 10 years.”
O’Hare’s cost per enplaned passenger, a metric tracked by airlines, is already among the nation’s highest, and more than twice that of airports in Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul, which are significant bases for Delta, Bloomberg News has reported.
High costs at the airport are a consideration for airlines, and can make the airport less appealing as a hub. They are a key factor for O’Hare, traditionally a major hub for American and United, as its recovery from the pandemic lagged in recent months.
Tribune reporter Gregory Royal Pratt contributed.