GROUNDED: CAPE AIRPORT TERMINAL PROJECT DELAYED AGAIN, UNTIL MID-APRIL

Tenants at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport terminal building will have to operate out of their temporary offices for a while longer.

The completion of the long-awaited terminal building renovation project has been pushed back to April 17, said the project's architect, Thomas Holshouser of Cape Girardeau.

And although some of the tenants likely will be able to move into a renovated section of the terminal later this month, the car rental companies at the airport will have to remain in its temporary office a mobile trailer situated in the terminal building parking lot.

"The main holdup at the moment is we're waiting for delivery of the ceramic floor tiles in the main lobby area," Holshouser said Thursday. "Once we get that installed, then we'll have the north end of the building as complete as possible."

The architect said he expected to receive the floor tile this week, which would mean completion of the north end of the building in the "next week or two."

That would enable the use of the renovated area as a boarding area and begin "phase two" of the project renovation of the central and southern sections of the terminal building, Holshouser said.

"We'll be able to move (Trans World Express airlines) and the weather station into their space in the terminal building," he said.

"Unfortunately, the car rental people will not be able to move into the terminal. They'll have to stay in the trailer, which we'll probably have to move for the next phase of the project."

The project, which was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration last April, has been plagued by construction delays.

Terminal building tenants were forced to move out of the facility last February and have remained in the mobile offices since. When the FAA approved the project, it already was three months behind schedule.

The delays were caused by the FAA's refusal to accept a construction contract, because the low bidder on the project was unable to comply with a federal program that sets a quota for the percentage of minority subcontractors participating in the project.

The contractor with the second lowest bid, R.A. Schemel and Associates, finally was able to demonstrate its compliance with the conditions of the federal program and received FAA approval.

When Schemel started actual work on the building in June, the contractor was forced first to remove asbestos from the building further delaying the project.

Holshouser said there was another delay when the subcontractor hired to replace the roof with a new, light-weight deck, was unable to start the job because he had taken other work while waiting for the FAA to award the airport contract.

"We lost about a month and half waiting for the subcontractor to get on the job," Holshouser said.

He said he sympathizes with the tenants who now have been out of the terminal building for a year.

"It's been especially tough for Hertz rental car, because they also had the gift shop," he said. "They've had to have that in storage the whole time and have lost all that revenue. They're not very happy at all right now, and I can't say I blame them."

Despite the delays, Holshouser said the project is "shaping up" and he's optimistic there won't be further, substantial setbacks. He said that to date, change orders for the project have totaled less than half of 1 percent of the contract.

"When you're doing a renovation project, you're going to have some change orders," he said. "You're just not going to avoid that.

"But they've been minimal so far. The weather hasn't been that unusual, and the snow hasn't held us up yet."

That could change in the second phase of the project, though, which involves foundation work.

Much of the terminal building's exterior work has been completed, with the installation of one-foot-square, ceramic tile designed to resemble a rose-colored granite. Also, bronze, metal trim has been installed around the window frames, in addition to a new facia along the roof edge, which has a synthetic stucco finish.

Inside, the north side of the building is nearly complete aside from some finishing work.

"It's starting to shape up," Holshouser said. "The vinyl wall covering is completed in the north end, and once the floor tile is put in, it will be fairly finished.

"The south end is primarily the restaurant and lounge, the two car rental agencies, and a waiting area where the main lobby will be."

Holshouser said he's convinced people won't recognize the old terminal building after the renovation work is complete.

"If you had photos of it before we started and saw the finished product, I think you'd have a tough time seeing the old terminal building," he said.

Holshouser said he hopes the improvement will draw people to the airport and renew interest in local aviation.

"We've got an asset out there," he added. "You know, people go out and watch riverboats and barges go by on the river, and here they can sit and watch the planes go in and out.

"Before, the kitchen kind of blocked the view, but now it will be opened up and you'll be able to see a lot of activity from the lounge and restaurant area."