Birmingham Airport Cargo Facility: A Model for Regional Airports

Design & Construction in Under Two Years Helps BAA Realize their Vision

According to inventor Thomas Edison, “Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” That statement recently rang true for the Birmingham Airport Authority (BAA). With an eye on future cargo capabilities, BAA completed a master plan and program definition study to determine how to best utilize their entire available air cargo campus area, including a new facility. This master plan also considered future air cargo facilities for other prospective cargo operators at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BMH).

BAA’s cargo campus planning project was initiated by the need for the existing air cargo buildings with adjacent aircraft parking aprons to be relocated to resolve the conflict with BHM’s airfield improvement program, which called for relocating Taxiway A, the parallel taxiway on the south side of Runway 6-24, to a distance of 500 feet centerline-to-centerline from the runway. As such, this air cargo facility planning and design effort was needed as an enabling project for relocating Taxiway A. The requirement for Taxiway A to be relocated would displace the cargo facility for UPS, so a new design was put in motion to accommodate the small package shipper.

That’s when opportunity met planning. Before a shovel hit the ground, the design for the new air cargo building for soon-to-be-displaced UPS was upended by international shipper Kuehne + Nagel, who wanted to lease the entire cargo facility as quickly as it could be designed and constructed. Why the need for such a bold move? The shipper wanted the cargo facility at BHM to more reliably import and supply auto plants in the Southeast with weekly parts shipments from Germany. These shipments faced delays and lengthy ground transport routes from other airports it was using in the U.S.

BHM was the perfect solution for this international shipper due to its proximity to essential transportation routes in the Southeast and a cargo facility design in progress that could be altered to meet its needs on an aggressive schedule for project completion, move-in, and fit-up to conduct operations. However, this was no small task for the building designer, who was committed to helping BAA realize its cargo capability vision. On an expedited schedule, the team pivoted to create a large warehouse operation in what was planned to be a facility for a small package shipper. In less than two years, the project was designed, constructed, and put into use. In just a short few months, the facility has become an economic engine for the Birmingham region and a model for other regional airports to expand their cargo capabilities to serve shippers looking for alternatives to better manage their supply chain shipping options.

The new $31 million air cargo facility owned by BAA was completed in June 2024. The imposing structure is 53,000 square feet with 48,500 square feet of warehouse space, including 17 bays of loading docks, five airside bay doors, and four roll-up doors, two airside and two landside. Features of the building include an attractive and aesthetically pleasing façade, employee amenities with offices, conference rooms, restrooms, and breakrooms, and oversized industrial ceiling fans to keep air circulating for greater worker comfort in the massive open space.

The cargo facility was designed by CHA Consulting, Inc. (CHA) which had been providing planning and program definition study services to BAA. CHA’s innovative and sustainable design is intended to serve as a modern cargo facility with sustainable elements to improve water quality from stormwater runoff and promote energy efficiency, including natural daylighting, daylighting controls and enhanced air circulation with active industrial ceiling fans and passive cross ventilation strategies designed to create a more comfortable working environment. CHA’s design of the impressive filtration system will improve water quality from stormwater runoff from the new impervious surfaces for aircraft and truck parking areas before it is conveyed into natural waterways.

Delivering this project, from design to accepting cargo, in under two years was remarkable. There were many hurdles along the way, including the COVID pandemic, a significant shift in design to accommodate a potential tenant that emerged after the initial design, and an extremely aggressive schedule. The design team focused on strong communication with BAA and the contractor, including weekly phone calls to keep the project schedule on track. The team also banked on local Birmingham-based firms, including DBE firms, to assemble a strong team with sufficient resources to meet the client’s expectations. These local firms were an essential part of the team and collaborated to complete this project on its expedited timeline.

The accelerated reshoring of manufacturing in the U.S. has continued to bring opportunities to smaller market airports, now in a unique position to optimize their available land and infrastructure to meet the needs of shippers and logistics companies seeking alternative routes to deliver components more reliably to manufacturers. The BHM facility has immediately accelerated the airport’s cargo capacity and volume, created new jobs, and injected capital into the Birmingham region while meeting a growing need for supply chain options.

Other regional airports with similar strategic locations and available land should consider BHM a model to successfully expand their cargo facilities to serve this growing economic need. According to BAA, smaller airports can move cargo faster, cheaper, and on a more predictable schedule than larger, more congested airports if they have the infrastructure and warehousing capacity in place.

A relocated cargo facility for UPS remains a critical improvement need at BMH and is intended to be addressed as a future project in the planned air cargo campus. BAA also hopes to continue to expand its good fortune by growing its international cargo capabilities.