The $1.3-billion redesign of Kansas City International Airport finally has a face, or at least renderings of what the proposed single terminal would look like if voters approve a Nov. 7 referendum authorizing construction.

The H-shaped terminal design is the result of several factors: the KCI Aviation Dept.’s requirements, determined over two years of planning; input from stakeholders, such as the airlines serving KCI as well as the Transportation Security Administration; and ideas from developer Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate and lead architect SOM.

Leading up to the request for proposals during last summer’s design competition, the KCI Aviation Dept. spent two years interviewing stakeholders and talking to people about what they wanted in a new airport. That RFP document specified an H-shaped footprint, which the airlines and the department thought was the most efficient.

“KCI is beloved by the community for its convenience,” said Geoffrey Stricker, managing director of Edgemoor. “We wanted to keep the experience as convenient [as possible] both in terms of arrival-departure and as one moves through the terminal.”

The design has departures on an upper level and arrivals on a lower level. Just as at the original KCI, a parking garage will remain just across the street from the main terminal, preserving the drive-and-fly convenience many residents enjoy.

Further, security has been consolidated into a single checkpoint. “By consolidating to one screening area, it should be more efficient from a through-put perspective for TSA,” Stricker says. “They don’t have a true TSA pre-check today. Now, they’ll be able to have a true pre-check line.”

There will be design open houses in November and December in each of Kansas City’s six City Council districts.