Kissimmee accepted a $2.5 million state grant on Nov. 3 for a new control tower at Kissimmee Gateway Airport. The $17.7 million tower replaces one from 1997.
Kissimmee Gateway Airport is a step closer to a new air traffic control tower. The City Commission voted Nov. 3 on two items that move the $17.7 million project into construction.
Updated Nov. 5: The City Commission approved both items on Nov. 3 as part of the consent agenda, the city’s action summary for the meeting shows. The grant was accepted as Resolution 30-2026, and the Avcon task order passed. No construction contract or start date has been announced.
The first accepts a $2.5 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation. The second hires the airport’s engineering firm to oversee the build. Both are on the consent agenda for the commission’s meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, at City Hall, 101 Church St., according to the meeting agenda and staff reports. Consent items pass in one vote unless a commissioner asks to discuss one separately.
Why the airport wants a new tower
The existing tower opened in April 1997, the airport says on its environmental assessment page. It “does not meet current FAA visual performance criteria,” the page says.
The city’s project page says the new tower “addresses safety issues with the current facility.” It lists completion by 2028, after construction, installation of FAA equipment and certification.
The airport’s environmental assessment page describes the new tower:
- built southeast of the existing tower, next to a recently built electrical vault and lift station
- 115 feet tall overall
- controllers’ eye level at 85 feet
Who pays
The staff report puts the total project at $17,676,346. The money comes from four sources:
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Federal Aviation Administration | $12,163,013 |
| Florida Department of Transportation, fiscal 2027 | $2,500,000 |
| Florida Department of Transportation, fiscal 2028 | $2,500,000 |
| Kissimmee Gateway Airport | $513,333 |
Tuesday’s grant is the first of the two state payments, and it goes toward the first phase of construction, the staff report said. The state has programmed the second $2.5 million for fiscal 2028.
The city announced in May that the federal share included a $10 million FAA grant from the agency’s Contract Tower program. “We are very grateful for the federal partnership and support that helped make this investment possible,” Aviation Director Shaun Germolus said then.
The engineering contract
The second item is a $1,350,863 task order for AVCON Inc., the engineering firm that drew the tower’s construction plans. AVCON would handle bidding, construction administration, inspections, materials testing and record drawings.
The FAA said an independent fee review found the rates acceptable, according to the staff report. The firm’s scope of work says it will be paid once federal funds arrive. It also puts the construction budget at about $19.1 million, based on bids, and says its work will run at least 24 months from the construction contractor’s notice to proceed.
What it means for you
Nothing changes at the airport yet. The new tower would go up on its own site, southeast of the current one, and the city’s target for it to open is 2028.
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The same meeting approved speed cameras in Kissimmee school zones.
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