West Texas Ag, you seemed to be in the know around here about some things in Amarillo. i have a couple of questions for you.

The new center on Soncy - any update on stores, restaurant(s) that might go in there?

Western Plaza project - do you know if that is still a go to tear that thing down and develop that area? That is prime real estate and I would love to see it developed w/ restaurants, housing, shops, etc. b/c it is so close to my house. i had heard the project was dead.

thanks again for any tips.

The project at 34th & Soncy is moving along nicely. Some of the tenants signed up include Chico's, Coldwater Creek, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, World Market and Guitar Center. More tenant news on that project coming soon.

I am hearing that the Western Plaza deal may be close to finally getting off the ground. Not sure if it is a done deal just yet. I agree that it would be nice for Amarillo if that area was redeveloped.

on a (somewhat) related note --

I hear they've approved the design for a $26 million makeover of Rick Husband/Amarillo Int'l Airpot to make it more traveler-friendly ...



Not to knock AMA, but it has to be the blandest-looking airport that I've ever set foot in (and it was even more stark before they decorated the walls the photo-murals of Palo Duro Canyon).

Still, when the new AMA terminal opened in the early 1970s it was an quantum-leap improvement over the old Amarillo Air Terminal at English Field.

I also hear they're going to build a new ramp from I-40 to direct traffic to AMA (and avoid getting crunched by all the 18-wheelers pulling in and out of the the Flying J Travel Plaza at I-40 and Airport Boulevard). It's about time ...

BBH-

Absolute waste of money. I can park my car and be at the gate in <15 minutes, security check and all. How much more travel friendly can you get?

The terminal may not be pretty, but it works and it would be stupid to change it, especially for that kind of money.

As far as the trucks, yes, they are a pain, and it is probably a safety issue. But I have never been delayed more than about 15 seconds at the intersection.

Some genius thinks the way to fix that is to spend millions and move the airport exit further from town? It would be cheaper to build the flying J a new truck stop a mile east.

Or the smart thing (and much cheaper) to do would be to buy the land to the north of the Flying J, pave it and give it to Flying J to use as a parking/waiting in line area.

The airport thing is a waste of money. I dont care if the FEDS are giving away cash, that is just a waste of money that keeps going into the airport.

The paper had the Western Plaze project still a "go" in the paper this morning, so I guess it is still on its way - i hope.

I read up on the project. They want to tear down both wings of the current terminal, one of which is not being used.

I have no idea what the flying public will be expected to do between tear down and completion of the new terminal.

Well, if it's anything like the renovation project at Houston Hobby a few years ago, the public will be in for an interesting travel experience. Expect lots of concrete dust, asbestos abatement, open walls with exposed utility lines, and a bunch of signs featuring an armadillo wearing a hard hat that says "Howdy Folks! Please excuse our dust!" or some such ...

btw, I never said AMA was an ugly terminal, just a bit on the bland side (until they put up the photo murals up, at least). AMA has never been as dingy and well-worn as HOU was before its renovation. One of the best things about AMA is that use of the baggage carts is free! (that's a rare thing at airports these days.)

The airport is fine as is, although something needs to be done with the section of unused gates. It's about as easy to get thru as Easterwood, only with more flights/options.

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The airport is fine as is

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well, I guess they could extend the main runway another 2,500 feet, just for the sake of making it longer than Denver's

Amarillo has to be the easiest airport to travel from in the world. Why do they need to do anything to it?

My problems with the Amarillo airport:

1.) One side of the terminal is a complete waste of space. Sooner or later you have to do something with it (will eventual fall apart), in the meantime you are heating/cooling, maintaining, and paying for non-usable space.

2.) So now with the knowledge of only 1 usable wing of the terminal, and only a maximum of about 8 gates, why do we have to put everything down one corridor. Obviously, if you were starting over you wouldn't do this. You would spread everything out down the middle (easier to get people and bags in and out of planes, ticket couters, etc.) I know it is not a long walk but it is still a poor design for what the actual situation is.

3.) The security station, while they have added a second walk through to speed it up, can be very nasty at peak times. However, now everyone is cramed down a 20 foot wide hallway (everyone going in and out fo the same cooridor). Additionally, you are stuck iwth no room for expansion or peak time management now.
4.) most importantThe bar is on the outside of the gates before security. This is just plane (pun intended) stupid. Wouldn't be nice to go ahead and go through security and then pick up a beer while waiting for your 12:30 flight to Vegas??

Personally, I think the airport needs a redesign. If the federal government is willing to put some bucks into a local project - why in the hell are locals all the sudden complaining about free money for local projects?

B/C its not FREE MONEY - there is no such thing as free money. it is the tax payers money, your money and my money.

we all pay for these projects

the more ridiculous waste of money is the specialty highway / airport ramp for $25 million they want to put in off of I-40 to bypass some truckstops and Bell Helicopter. that is crazy.

i hate to see us all act like money hounds and not be fiscally responsible when it comes to govt. money.

we would not be doing any of this if it was coming out of our own pocket or if there as a $.005 sales tax locally to fund either of these projects and that is a good measure of whether or not the project should get off the ground.

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if it was coming out of our own pocket

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I don't think this is such a good test of public works projects.

If I had to go collect a dollar from everyone around town, we also wouldn't have highways, schools, an ag extenstion center, etc. etc. They also wouldn't have repaved Coulter road last week (even though it needed it) or fixed the pot holes on your street.

The point is, that money is going to get spent, it is in the federal budget. If it doesn't get spent in Amarillo, it will get spent in Lincoln, Nebraska or Jacksonville, FL or [fill in blank], USA. Thank god we have city leaders who recognize this and go get the money and use it in our town, supporting local jobs and local businesses, instead of it going somewhere else.

I appreciate your libertarian ideals, but unfortunatley that is not reality, and in the meantime, I would rather have the money spent here.

I'll admit that I do find it a hassle to go back thru security after the craving for a beer sets in. I could always pass on the beer but what fun would that be?

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Some genius thinks the way to fix that is to spend millions

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This is the liberal answer to almost everything. C'mon people, get with the program.

btw. I was at a Chamber of Commerce meeting yesterday and the president of the Amarillo EDC was addressing the airport redesign and also the new entrance to the airport.

He commented on the fact that the effort was not very well "marketed" by the paper. Here are some of the reasons he gave for moving the entrance about another mile east off I-40. The design includes a nice new entrance to the airport, a serpentine style road back to the airport, landscaping, commercial development (business park) along the route, and the highway interchange (biggest part of the dollars).

1.) Several of the major employers do not like the current entrance because it is plain ugly and it frankly makes it hard to recruit people to the area when that is their first impression. The BWXT Pantex comment was that many a spouse has rejected the move because of this first impression.

2.) The AEDC is owns much of the land straight south of the airport and wants to market it as a business development plan for aero-related business that need access to airport/rail/highway with ease.

3.) Bell Heli continues to expand and shift changes are beginning to be a problem there at the current location. They have 1200 people now and want to get to 1500.

4.) Safety. There are many times where the Flying J traffic is backed up around the corner. Yes, you can pull around but you have to go into the turn lane to do it, outgoing trucks can not see you when cars whip around. Additionally, traffic coming south off the overpass is typically not visible until you are past the truck stop.

5.) A direct interchange off of I-40 would allow traffic to get directly onto the airport entrance without the current issues of poor light/traffic control.

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4.) Safety. There are many times where the Flying J traffic is backed up around the corner. Yes, you can pull around but you have to go into the turn lane to do it, outgoing trucks can not see you when cars whip around. Additionally, traffic coming south off the overpass is typically not visible until you are past the truck stop.

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Exactly. We were flying out of AMA on 7/15/06, and as ususal, there were two 18-wheelers waiting to pull into Flying J, standing still and blocking both northbound lanes (one of them was partially blocking the turn lane as well). (and yes, next time I'll just go down and go up Pullman Road instead ...)