Airport Begins New International Terminal Project

Officials and project partners pull down Concourse E sign at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. Photo taken Sept. 16, 2025 by Graham Kilmer.

Officials celebrated the development of a new international terminal at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport Tuesday with a modest act of demolition: they pulled down a sign.

The new terminal, which has been in the works for roughly the past decade, will be developed on the site of the former Concourse E. The concourse, built in 1969, has been shuttered since 2017. It will be replaced with a two-gate terminal capable of handling significantly more traffic than the existing international terminal.

“So this event today is all about modernization and a more efficient operation at the airport,” said Airport Director Brian Dranzik.

The new terminal was designed by Alliiance, a Minneapolis-based architecture firm, and construction will be led by Findorff. The terminal is expected to be completed by 2027.

The $95.2 million project is being funded largely through airport bonds, which are issued by the airport and repaid using revenue collected from the air carriers that operate out of Milwaukee Mitchell. The project was also awarded two federal Airport Terminal Program grants totaling $13.5 million.

“It’s an investment in the people of Milwaukee County,” County Executive David Crowley said at the ceremony Tuesday, “but it’s also an investment in the tourism of Milwaukee County and in turn, meaning it’s an investment in the future of Milwaukee County.”

The airport initially planned to begin construction in 2020, budgeting $55 million for the project that year. But it was put on hold by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent inflation raised costs.

The existing international terminal at Milwaukee Mitchell was built in 1975 and is not connected to the main terminal passengers use for all other flights. It is only able to handle arrivals and is undersized for a modern airport terminal, with a building capacity lower than the capacity of aircraft used on long international flights. The terminal only fits up to 140 people, but a modern wide-body aircraft can carry as many 300.

The new terminal will have fewer gates than the former Concourse E. But that wing of the airport was shuttered eight years ago as part of a right-sizing effort. Only two carriers, United and Air Canada, were flying out of the 10 gate concourse when they shut it down, Dranzik said.

“What we’re trying to do here is right size this down to what our needs are with a two-gate facility,” Dranzik said.

Planning for the new international terminal was already underway when this occurred. Dranzik said they looked at redeveloping Concourse E, as well as the existing international terminal, but decided it made the most sense to demolish and rebuild. Demolition will begin in the coming weeks. The airport has contracted with HM Brandt for the work.

The new terminal will have modern amenities, including restrooms for families, nursing mothers and even pet relief areas, said Jeff Loeschen of Alliiance. The building’s design includes green roofs, and vegetation throughout the interior. Large glass walls will line the concourse with solar shading fans “inspired by local sailing culture and lake life,” Loeschen said. The project will yield 250 construction jobs, said Matt Bruenig, Findorff vice president of operations.

Some air carriers have already expressed excitement about the new facility, Dranzik told Urban Milwaukee. The airport plans to make it available to carriers running both international and domestic flights. It will be able process 400 passengers an hour.

New Terminal Renderings

Concourse E

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