Drab to fab ... big changes are coming to Tampa

The place once billed as “The World’s Finest Airport” is still a first-rate field. But it’s time for a major redesign of its inner workings.

Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano says, “The main terminal facility has been refurbished in the past, but this project is so much more.” No mere makeover, Lopano contends what’s about to take place is “an upgrade [of] both form [and] function,” an upgrade that he says will “preserve the ambience of the main terminal while significantly enhancing the customer experience.”

Here’s what they plan to do:

• Redesign the interior. Designers are looking at everything – flooring, fixtures, furniture, lighting, and wall coverings. The idea is to create a modern, open space that imparts a “Florida feel.”
• Update the restrooms. Doesn’t sound especially exciting, but it’s really important to passengers. All 16 of TPA’s restrooms will be re-done with durable new materials. The aim here is to install “hands-free” technology, such as faucets and dryers. They’re cleaner, and can less readily pass on bacteria.
• Build a new customer outreach center. It will be on the third floor, and if you want to know where to go, or what to do at TPA this is where to stop.
• Put in new tourist centers. TPA isn’t a hub. It’s an “O and D” (origin and destination) airport. People come to Tampa Bay to play and kick back. This is where to go to find out about hotels, attractions, restaurants and such.
• Incorporate a USO into the redesign. There’s a large military presence in the Tampa Bay area, and having a place for service members and their families to relax is requisite.
• Move the chapel. In our headlong rush from Point A to B it’s good to put things in perspective. The airport’s chapel is being relocated to make it more accessible.
• Make the signs clearer. Doesn’t sound sexy, but it’s important for passengers. New signs will be dynamic. They’ll rotate information, and be more visible than the current static garden variety.

The cost for all of this will be around $20 million according to the airport. Look for changes to be phased in by the summer of 2013.

Story by Jerry Chandler

(Image: Aaron Gustafson)