$4.5B lease OKd for 2nd phase of LaGuardia renovation

The Port Authority board approved a lease Thursday for the second half of the $8 billion redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport.

The 35-year lease with Delta Air Lines and its corporate partners calls for $3.9 billion in private-sector funding and $600 million from the Port Authority for the construction of a new Delta terminal and access roads on the site of its two current terminals.

The lease is with an entity called Empire State Terminal Group, which has partnered with Delta and Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Delta will operate the new terminal and finance the debt with passenger fees and other revenue from the airport. The Port Authority will be responsible for the new roads after they are completed.

The new terminal will be just to the east of the main airport terminal, also known as the Central Terminal Building or Terminal B, being redeveloped by LaGuardia Gateway Partners, a private firm with a similar lease agreement with the port agency.

Terminal B is used by nine airlines, including American Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest and United.

The current Terminal B work has resulted in snarled traffic on airport access roads for the past six months. The lease with Delta will not be finalized until it delivers a satisfactory parking and traffic mitigation plan, the lease agreement says.

In a separate action Thursday, the Port Authority said it would extend a reduced rate at the long-term parking lot at LaGuardia in an effort to ease congestion.

The rate at lot P10 had been reduced from $39 to $18 daily between Thanksgiving and the New Year, and the agency said Thursday the lower rate would be extended to Jan. 31.

Each lease requires the developer to build a new garage near its terminal.

It was not clear when construction on the Delta part of the project would begin, but the Port Authority said completion is currently scheduled for 2026.