San Antonio: New airport tower part of $276M plan

An iconic but lesser-known structure in El Paso is set to have a successor soon.

El Paso International Airport is getting a new air traffic control tower – one of several large-scale projects and investments planned for the 7,000-acre airport property.

The airport’s current tower was constructed in 1967, when it cost under $50 for a plane ticket. It was designed by I.M. Pei, a Chinese American architect who designed other iconic structures, including the Louvre pyramid, the John F. Kennedy Library and the Bank of China Tower.

While the 174-foot air traffic control tower is on airport property, it is an asset of the federal government, which is taking the lead on the project.

Sam Rodriguez, the city’s chief operations officer, said the airport has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar to develop the plan for a new tower.

“We play a very critical role. We worked with them on the study of the location of the new tower, which will be in construction over a couple of years,” Rodriguez said. “From an airport operations standpoint, it really ensures our air traffic control facilities in and around the airspace will be state of the art and reliable for the future.”

The project just began its design phase last month, Rodriguez said.

According to airport materials, there were issues identified with the current tower during a line-of-sight assessment.

The terminal building obstructs the view for parts of Runway 4, and the north cargo building obstructs parts of Runway 22. A new site for the air traffic control tower would eliminate these obstructions and improve safety.

This month, El Paso City Council approved a $276 million capital improvement plan for the airport. The plan includes about $100 million more in funding over last fiscal year, Rodriguez said.

The five-year capital improvement plan includes about $121 million in airport-generated funding and $154.8 million in federal dollars.

The bulk of funding, nearly $130 million, will go toward airfield improvements. About $44 million will go toward terminal improvements and $102 million toward non-aviation projects and developments.

In addition to flight and passenger traffic, there’s also been a flurry of development on the business park side of El Paso International Airport.

City Manager Tommy Gonzalez said there are about 2,000 acres that can still be developed on airport property. That’s in addition to the projects already underway, including the 2 million-square-foot Marmaxx distribution center.

“Next to Marmaxx, we just leased out a 200-acre space, which will create over $1.7 million from the land lease per year,” Gonzalez said. “We have been able to sign 50 leases since 2020.”

In late March, City Council signed a 40-year lease with EP Land Holdings I LLC. EP Land Holdings will develop a 200-acre site on airport property and find tenants to occupy it.

Gonzalez and Rodriguez said the land leases, businesses and additional development on airport property help fund airport improvements.

“The airport itself is a big economic generator for the region,” he said. “There are over 500 businesses operating on the airport proper.”

The city also received $25 million in federal funding to develop a multibuilding advanced manufacturing campus on airport property, targeting startups and small and medium-sized enterprises looking to grow and compete for federal defense contracts.

“Ultimately it’s about building careers, not just creating jobs,” Rodriguez said.