The competition for a prized contract to design Tampa International Airport's new $1-billion terminal complex came down to the importance of local ties. This time, the locals lost.
By the thinnest of margins, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board on Thursday picked William Nicholas Bodouva & Associates of New York City for the contract valued at $15.8-million.
William Nicholas and Kansas City's HNTB Architecture, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively by authority staff, are national firms with long experience in airport projects. But only HNTB has an office in Tampa, a point that senior project manager Darryl McDonald hammered on repeatedly.
"I work, play … and worship here," he told board members. Then, five subordinates in the audience stood and one by one repeated the same mantra:
"I'm 100 percent committed to this project and to Tampa."
Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagen made a motion to reverse the staff's ranking based on HNTB's local presence. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio quickly disagreed.
The board shouldn't overrule a staffer who spent more than 600 hours reviewing proposals and interviewing firms, she said. Board chairman Stephen Mitchell and longtime member Al Austin joined her to defeat Hagen's motion and then pick William Nicholas on identical 3-2 votes.
The firm will spend two years developing a conceptual design to lay out the terminal, airfield, roadways and other pieces of the complex that will be north of the existing main terminal. The first section of the terminal is scheduled to open in 2015.
Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.
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