15-04-2025
Rental car facility at Ford Airport celebrates construction milestone
CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan's first consolidated rental car facility reached a major milestone with a topping-off ceremony Tuesday morning at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport near Grand Rapids.
It was too windy to actually lift the beam to top off the Consolidated Rental Car Facility, but the ceremony involving 150 construction workers was held regardless. When the beam is placed, it will mark the structural completion of the second tallest building on the airport's campus.
'Today is a great milestone that we're excited about with the topping out of this project. There's a tremendous amount of effort from all of our team members on this job, not to mention a lot of pride involved in what we do,' Dave Williamson, executive vice president for West Michigan-based concrete contractor Kent Companies, told News 8.
Work begins on $156M Ford airport rental car building
The $156 million CONRAC is set to open in spring 2026. Once complete, the five-story structure will centralize all rental car operations into a single location, easing traffic congestion and reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 500,000 pounds annually.
With construction about 60% done, airport officials say the project has supported more than 800 construction jobs and has generated a $220 million economic impact for the West Michigan region. Turner Construction is managing the project, with Kent Companies providing concrete and structural services.
Williamson said his company has devoted 165,000 man-hours to pour some 70,000 yards of concrete for the CONRAC.
'That's enough to fill 22 Olympic-sized pools,' Williamson said. 'There's enough reinforcing in this project to span from Grand Rapids to Albuquerque, just to give you an idea … just laid straight out.'
Fly nonstop to these 2 new cities from Ford Airport
The goal is to open the CONRAC next spring.
The CONRAC is part of ELEVATE, the airport's $600 million investment in transportation infrastructure.
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