September 28, 2009 – The terminal at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) is undergoing its biggest renovation in more than a decade — and KS surveyors are playing an important role in the project.
New retailers have been moving in weekly, and by next year the airport's retail and restaurant space will have nearly doubled. The airport's goal is to increase traveler spending from $5 to $15 per visit, thereby increasing concessions revenue from $30 to $60 million per year. More revenue translates into lower landing fees, which would encourage carriers to schedule more flights.
KS Associates' role in the project is to prepare maps and legal descriptions for parcels of the new shops and restaurants. This provides the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County the ability to assign a separate tax parcel identification number for each space, while providing accurate locations of the parcels for taxing purposes.
To perform their work, surveyors needed to locate the exterior walls of the spaces within the terminal and concourses. This required coordination with airport personnel and security to gain access to each retail space. Also, because work is taking place within secured areas of the airport, surveying equipment must be authorized before it passes through airport security, and must be accounted for when leaving the area.
Other challenges include working around travelers and airport personnel in the concourses, baggage claim and ticketing levels. The airport has been providing flight information in advance so that work can be scheduled during less busy travel times, when possible. Surveyors have been flexible in adjusting their work schedules to accommodate the airport's off-peak travel times. Work is also being completed in phases to allow retailers to move into their spaces as soon as possible.
The project will give travelers greater choices in food and retail options during layovers; the airport wil be positioned to be more competitive in terms of carriers and the number of flights; and the project will help brand Cleveland by giving out-of-town visitors a sense of the city's industries and food types.
This is just one of many assignments that KS surveyors have executed under an On-Call Surveying Services contract with the airport.
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