Arkansas architects chosen for new Columbus airport tower

An architectural firm from Arkansas will design the new tower at the Columbus Municipal Airport.

The airport is announcing that Marlon Blackwell Architects, based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, will design the new 100-foot tower slated for the airport. The design will be in conjunction with the Woolpert engineering firm with offices in Indianapolis and the Federal Aviation Administration. A grant from Cummins Foundation Architecture Program will be used toward the architecture fees for the project.

The new tower will cost an estimated $11.5 million dollars and will replace the airport’s existing 80-year-old tower. The new tower will meet current Federal Aviation Administration standards including those for sighting, backup cooling and power, security, fire and life safety, and FAA equipment.

Marlon Blackwell said that the agency hopes “the new Columbus Municipal Airport Air Traffic Control Tower will become a beacon of Columbus’s architectural and design heritage, that will mark a key gateway into the city.”

Construction is expected to begin in April of 2025 after a year-long design process.