Federal funding has been secured for work that will lead to the building of a new air traffic control tower at the Loveland-based Northern Colorado Regional Airport.
The funding is coming through a 2027 fiscal year appropriation bill approved last month by the House Appropriations Committee that includes $1.2 million for the tower. That funding will pay for the environmental review and early design phases of the project.
In a statement, Patrick McFall, the Mayor of Loveland, characterized the funding as an “important investment in the future of the Northern Colorado Regional Airport.”
McFall added that funding “strengthens airport safety, supports future commercial air service, and helps position our region for continued economic growth.”
Built in 1963 and originally called the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport, the facility saw the completion of a new $22 million terminal in November of 2024 and is now contemplating the development of new runways to accommodate larger aircraft.
The airport facilitates flights via airliners American, Delta, Southwest, and Delta, and handles diversion traffic via the Denver International Airport.
The move for a new tower at the airport comes after airport officials have spent the most part of the last decade pursuing what the Loveland Reporter-Herald calls a “virtual tower project that would have used cameras, radar, and sensors to monitor and direct air traffic remotely.”
Earlier this year, however, airport officials decided instead to focus their efforts on the building of an actual tower.
As currently proposed, the tower will be some 120 feet in height, replacing a current structure that is around 10 feet tall.
It is thought that it will cost upwards of $19 million to build and complete the new tower, with funding expected to come through a variety of sources including future Congressional appropriations, and grants via both the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.
July 6, 2026
By Garry Boulard
