Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • April 30, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 17 PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Skill Technical Training Facility | Springfi eld, Massachusetts PDS demolished the entire existing building and built a new pre-engineered metal building training center and storage facility. The building includes training facilities, public restrooms and storage for Forest Park's Bright Nights equipment. The building features a clear span warehouse, energy effi cient LED lighting and underslab radiant heating systems throughout, brick veneer, insulated wall panels and a lodge-style grand entrance. Project Size: 12,000 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfi eld, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: M PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD to New York and Boston, he said. "So in a market like this, it's all about seats," Dillon said. "I continue to believe if we can get the seats here, we will fill them, that there's that much market strength." More passengers means more flights, which leads to more landing fee revenue, and rental car, parking and concession revenue, he said. "Passenger numbers really drive our business across the board," Dil- lon said. Bradley's No. 1 selling point is conve- nience, Dillon said, so the master plan focuses heavily on projects enhancing that. Economic driver CAA board member and Suffield resident Scott Guilmartin acknowledged that many variables can influence the state's and re- gion's economy in coming years, but he's comfortable the master plan allows for reasonable growth and is the correct blueprint for the future. "While I want to be very optimistic about the region, I do think that over the next few years, Connecticut will continue to have some economic chal- lenges that we'll work through and the airport will be positioned in a way to react to a more reinvigorated eco- nomic environment," said Guilmartin, a partner in NuPower LLC, a sustainable power developer and investor with of- fices in Bridgeport. "I think that this new rental car facility and parking garage will have a very positive impact overall on the airport," he said. "And the reconstruc- tion of Schoesphoester Road and the projects that will be associated with that will really be positively viewed and accepted by the public." The airport plays a significant role in the region's economic development, said Guilmartin, who chairs CAA's eco- nomic development subcommittee. The airport's economic influence underscores the importance of the master plan and keeping up with and serving the region's economic needs, Dillon said. "If business is going to thrive here in the state, if we're going to try to get business relocations to the state, one of the things right at the top of every business's list has to be a vi- able transportation network and the airport plays a very central part in that," Dillon said. Fitch Ratings has factored the master plan into its reviews of Brad- ley's finances and in its last report on Bradley debt in October affirmed the "A" rating on CAA's roughly $116.3 million of outstanding 2011 general airport revenue refunding bonds, with a stable ratings outlook. Mark Lazarus, an analyst in Fitch's global infrastructure group and associ- ate director, said there's been a consis- tent practice of conservative budgeting at Bradley and he cited healthy financial metrics and cash on hand. "Naturally, those factors support healthy debt service coverage, which they've consistently maintained and we expect them to maintain going forward," he said. Seth Lehman, an analyst in Fitch's global infrastructure group and senior director, said Bradley is embarking on projects consistent with other airports, keeping up with growth and managing lifecycle costs to maintain a modern facility. "We generally think it's positive when airports are thinking medium- to long-term about the needs of the airport and we don't expect Bradley to be a high-growth airport with signifi- cant capacity additions, but still mod- ernizing facilities and upgrades … the more important needs of the airport," he said. Scott Guilmartin, Board Member, Connecticut Airport Authority Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, believes Bradley International Airport could serve 10 million passengers some day. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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