Monterey Regional Airport breaks ground on its long-awaited terminal project.

In his final action as Monterey Regional Airport’s executive director, Mike La Pier climbed aboard Graniterock’s loader and scooped up a load of dirt, raised it high in the air and tilted the bucket downward, sending the dirt tumbling to the ground.

It was a “Mike drop”—as joked by Interim Executive Director Chris Morello—on a 44-year career.

The event on Friday, June 6 was double-fold: As La Pier headed into retirement, with the last 10 years of his career at Monterey Regional Airport, the airport officially embarked on its future, breaking ground on a years-in-the-making terminal project meant to transform the growing travel hub.

“I’m damn proud of where we are today,” La Pier told a crowd of local, state and federal officials, among others, who gathered on the site of the former long-term parking lot where the new terminal will be built. “It’s a great way to end a career.”

The new terminal, at 62,754 square feet, will have five gates and boarding bridges, and is expected to offer a much more efficient experience for the airport’s growing number of passengers. It is planned to open in May 2027.

Its current terminal, constructed in the 1950s and expanded roughly two decades later, will continue to house airport offices and Woody’s at the Airport once the new facility opens.

As officials took turns at the microphone, behind them was a 425,000-square-foot apron well under construction.

Monterey Regional Airport’s $200 million Metamorphosis Safety Enhancement Program has been transforming its facilities in recent years. In 2023, a new fire station and hangars were constructed.

The roughly $100 million terminal project, expected to be LEED Platinum certified, is being constructed by Hensel Phelps and designed by architectural firm HOK—though tariffs add uncertainty to the final cost.

Morello says federal funding is supporting much—but not all—of the construction costs. The rest will be funded through a borrowing program that will be paid back through airport revenues.

Carl Miller, chair of the Monterey Peninsula Airport District Board of Directors, said the terminal project was being discussed back when he was first elected to the board 19 years ago.

“Monterey Regional Airport is undergoing a metamorphosis, a significant transformation that our passengers and other users will soon enjoy experiencing for decades to come,” he said.