The LaGuardia Airport of the future is a little closer as construction got underway on the facility’s new Delta terminal Tuesday.
The Delta terminal is the final phase of LaGuardia’s ongoing redevelopment, which features the addition of more taxiway space, expanded public transit and an AirTrain, state-of-the-art facilities and more parking.
Delta’s $3.4-billion investment into the terminal construction on the eastern part of the Queens airport is the largest in the airline’s history. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia, committed $600 million to the Delta terminal.
“LaGuardia is a pillar of New York’s transportation network and a key driver of economic growth, but for too long the airport has been unworthy of New York State,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the Delta groundbreaking ceremony. “The groundbreaking at Delta’s facilities represents another step forward as we build an entirely new airport at LaGuardia.”
Construction on the western portion of the airport and its surrounding roadways began last summer. The first new gates are slated to open sometime next year, with construction expected to be complete by 2021.
Cuomo also announced at the groundbreaking that LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP), which is building the western portion of the new airport, has added JLC Infrastructure as an MWBE (Minority and Women Business Enterprises) investor.
JLC Infrastructure is a joint venture of Magic Johnson Enterprises and Loop Capital Markets LLC, and its investment into LGP marks the first time in state history that an MWBE company is joining a public-private construction project.
LaGuardia Airport opened in 1939 and was designated a historic landmark in 1995.
