3 Comment

• WR June 20, 2014 at 12:47 pm

  Why am I not surprised that the city wants to tear down yet another functioning facility that is in good repair such as Terminal D? Didn’t they just expand the thing a few years ago and added the sky tram?
  This ‘tear down’ attitude to constantly rebuild nearly identical facilities should be an outrage to taxpayers that will have to pay off the bonds issued to pay for it, and it is not just this project. Just look at the expense TXDOT is paying to move the elevated HOV lanes along 610/290 and the work they did to expand that section!
  But then we seem to like to do that in Houston …. or is it just another bone thrown to the local construction magnates with a wink and a nod? If they want a new terminal then build a brand new one with future expansion in mind (a novel thought for Houston). Terminal “D” can then be used for domestic flights as we need more gates for those as well.
• Shannon June 20, 2014 at 1:01 pm

  JW Marriott should be given the key to the city for rehabbing that butchered building. I had seen images of what it looked like before that Mary Tyler Moore makeover, it was beautiful. It’s refreshing to see these companies refurbishing these great old buildings. I had always wanted to buy the old Texaco Headquarters and save it (could hardly afford it) so I’m thrilled to see someone has come in and is fixing it up as well. It was rumored to become a Ritz Carlton a few years ago but alas that fell thru.–oh and who is surprised I-130 is in default–it was idiotic to make it come in at Seguin!– If you’re driving down 35 toward Austin, chances are you’re going to SA or Austin so why in the hell would you want to pay to bypass them??–and 18 wheelers are also going to those 2 cities so who would they use it?– if it has paralleled 35 closer maybe it would have worked but it comes in too far from the 2 major cities –plus neither city really grows East–just a horrid execution and it will probably sink that Spanish company and the state will have to spend a fortune buying it—thanks Gov Good Hair–ya douche
• DNAguy June 20, 2014 at 3:48 pm

  @WR

  I would normally rail against the idea of tearing down Terminal D as opposed to renovating it. However, when you compare it to other international terminals around the world, it just doesn’t come close. Terminal E is leaps and bounds better, but still falls short when comparing some of the world’s best airports.
  When Houston built D, there wasn’t as much international travel in the world. Hell, the Berlin wall had only fallen a year prior and there was still such a thing as the Soviet Union. 1990 was a far different place than 2014. Using my 20/20 hindsight, it was an incredibly inconvenient time to build such terminal . Now we’re caught in an international airport arms race that we have to keep up with. To remain the energy capital of the world, we need to have an international terminal that can sustain such a title. In addition, the funding for this comes from a surcharge attached to those who use the airport to pay off the bonds. It’s about as equitable as you’re going to get when it comes to funding infrastructure.
  You could complain, but there are far bigger storms brewing in Houston’s future (See the cities legislated cap on its revenues and how much of the city’s budget is being / will be consumed by pension obligations) that we all should be worried about.