Suffolk and the Lee County Port Authority Celebrate Topping Off of Southwest Florida International Airport Terminal Expansion Phase 2

FORT MYERS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 5, 2025--

Suffolk, one of the most innovative and successful builders in the country, together with the Lee County Port Authority (LCPA), celebrated the topping off of Southwest Florida International Airport’s (RSW) Terminal Expansion Project Phase 2, marking a major milestone in Lee County’s largest ever public works project. The multi-year expansion is progressing as planned, a testament to Suffolk’s strong project management and effective collaboration with LCPA in delivering the project efficiently and to the highest standards.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251205207674/en/

The topping off commemorates the placement of the final steel beam on a more than 513,000-square-foot structural expansion reinforced by 12,000 tons of steel and supported by extensive airfield work. More than 500 workers have been on site daily, driving steady progress through rigorous planning, collaboration and digital coordination. The scale, pace and technical complexity of the work underscore the importance of this phase to the airport’s long-term growth.

“Celebrating this topping off reflects the exceptional skill, innovation and coordination of everyone involved,” said Pete Tuffo, President of Florida Gulf Coast and National Gaming at Suffolk. “Constructing a major terminal expansion in an active aviation environment requires disciplined planning and the best technology available. Our team and trade partners are raising the bar to deliver this complex project safely, efficiently and with the highest levels of quality.”

Suffolk’s team has deployed an array of advanced construction technologies and AI solutions to maintain precision and efficiency on an active airfield. By creating a virtual model before physical construction began, the team was able to identify and resolve potential issues early, delivering significant long-term savings in both time and budget. Monthly 3D scans are overlayed with the virtual model to validate installation accuracy, and twice-weekly OpenSpace walks—powered by OpenSpace’s AI-driven reality capture platform, which enables rapid site documentation and improves transparency—track field progress and enhance communication. All deliveries are scheduled and managed through Voyage Control, a smart logistics management system that streamlines scheduling and minimizes congestion in high-security airfield areas.

Alongside these construction achievements, Terminal Expansion Phase 2 will reshape the functionality and capacity at RSW. The expansion includes a new 14-gate Concourse E engineered to support 10,000 to 15,000 additional passengers per day, along with airside improvements, terminal roadway modifications, passenger boarding bridges, and the ability to grow to 19 gates in the future. Additional features include 37,000 square feet of retail space and nine new TSA checkpoint lanes, enhancing operational flow and passenger convenience.

Phase 2 of the Terminal Expansion Project will introduce streamlined security operations, enhanced circulation and modern building systems designed for an elevated passenger experience. When complete, the project will significantly strengthen RSW’s infrastructure and solidify its position as one of the premier airports in the country.

Suffolk’s diverse portfolio of Suffolk projects in Southwest Florida also includes Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor; Great Wolf Lodge, Avra at Metropolitan, Ritz-Carlton Residences, and the hotel at Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, in Naples; and Legacy Point and Riverdale High School, both in Fort Myers.

About Suffolk
Suffolk is a national enterprise that builds, innovates and invests. Suffolk is an end-to-end business that provides value throughout the entire project lifecycle by leveraging its core construction management services with vertical service lines that include real estate capital investment, design, self-perform construction services, technology start-up investment (Suffolk Technologies) and innovation research/development.

Suffolk – America’s Contractor – is a national company with more than $9 billion in annual revenue, 3,000 employees, and offices in Boston (headquarters); New York City and Westchester County, New York; Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa and Estero in Florida; Dallas; Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego; Las Vegas; Portland, Maine; New Haven, Connecticut; Herndon, Virginia; and Salt Lake City.

Suffolk manages some of the most complex, sophisticated projects in the country, serving clients in every major industry sector, including healthcare, life sciences, education, gaming, transportation/aviation, federal government and public work, mission critical, advanced technology and commercial. Suffolk is privately held and is led by Founder, Chairman and CEO John Fish. Suffolk is ranked #8 on ENR’s list of “Largest Domestic Builders” and #10 on its list of “Top CM-at-Risk Contractors.” For more information, visit www.suffolk.com and follow Suffolk on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

The final steel beam is placed at RSW Terminal Expansion Project Phase 2. Suffolk’s team has deployed an array of advanced construction technologies and AI solutions to maintain precision and efficiency on an active airfield.

Suffolk and the Lee County Port Authority celebrate the topping off of Southwest Florida International Airport’s (RSW) Terminal Expansion Project Phase 2, marking a major milestone in Lee County’s largest ever public works project.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State elevated its chief academic officer to president Thursday, moving swiftly past the abrupt resignation of former President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. following revelations about his “inappropriate relationship” with the female host of a podcast for military veterans.

Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Executive Vice President and Provost Ravi Bellamkonda as Carter’s successor — bypassing the traditional nationwide search — and Ohio State's fourth president since 2020.

The trustees want what's best for the university, board chair John Zeiger said.

“The right leader is already at our university," he said during a special board meeting, “and his vast experience, his personal values and management skills, his strong record here at Ohio State and his ability to inspire excellence in all those around him give this board great confidence” that Bellamkonda is the right fit.

Days earlier, the board of trustees confronted Carter about a tip from outside the university. He disclosed that he had “made a mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership,” according to his public statement, and submitted his resignation. The retired Navy vice admiral was just two years into a five-year contract under which he made more than $1.1 million a year, plus bonuses and residency at Ohio State’s president’s mansion.

He did not elaborate on the nature of the relationship and his statement indicated he and his wife, Lynda, are still together.

Expressing surprise and disappointment, Zeiger accepted his resignation Sunday and the university said it was investigating Carter’s “inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business.”

JobsOhio, the state’s privatized economic development office, said Carter’s resignation was “possibly connected” to his relationship to Krisanthe Vlachos, host of what was supposed to be a four-episode veterans’ podcast pilot, The Callout, for which it paid $15,000 an episode. Only one episode was delivered and the state is trying to claw back its $60,000, the office said.

“Ohio State is a trusted partner and Admiral Carter, sharing our passion for military and veterans, recommended The Callout Podcast as an opportunity to build and engage a military and veteran audience in Ohio,” the office posted on X, “and connect them to the massive job opportunities coming to Ohio’s super sectors like advanced aerospace/defense and energy.”

VetEarnUSA LLC, an Ohio business registered by Vlachos on Dec. 20, is part of the investigation, said Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson. She listed the address of the operation as that of WOSU Public Media. WOSU has said Vlanchos had a contract with them to record her podcast inside their studios in Columbus. The business filing also listed a St. Louis ZIP code.

Carter was a guest on the first podcast and JobsOhio said it supplied Vlachos a vendor pass to attend the Consumer Electronics Show - CES, to “meet people and identify angles for the remaining three podcasts.”

The office further said it paid Vlachos $10,000 toward a theater production for veterans called “Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret.” It was part of the office's Hometown Heroes program, which brings free programming to military, veterans and their families.

Lastly, Vlachos had submitted a proposal to JobsOhio, the Ohio State president's office and others for a mobile job-search app for Ohio veterans.

“We conducted due diligence and decided not to move forward with any investment,” the office said on X, asserting it followed all appropriate protocols in its partnerships with Carter's office and Vlachos, and that there were “no irregularities in our contracting or our vetting process.”

After the board meeting, Bellamkonda told reporters that stakeholders are certain to have a spectrum of reactions to Carter’s swift departure and potential misconduct, and he pledged to move forward and hold the university to a high standard.

The university brought Carter on board in 2023 from the University of Nebraska system. He is also a former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and he attended the Navy Fighter Weapons School, known as Top Gun.

Bellamkonda, a bioengineer and neuroscientist, joined the university after holding leadership, research or teaching positions at Emory University, Duke, Georgia Tech and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He earned his Ph.D. in medical science and biomaterials at Brown.

He pledged to redouble the university's commitment to excellence.

“Looking ahead, knowing our collective strengths, I promise you this: Together we will take on hard things that are worth doing,” he said. “Hard things that are worth doing in athletics, in healthcare, in education, in fact in all the things we do. We will lead and we will not be afraid to lead.”

This story has been corrected to show the new president is Ravi Bellamkonda, not Ballamkonda.

The Ohio State University head football coach Ryan Day, left, shakes hands with the university's new president, Ravi Bellamkonda, at Ohio State University on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

New Ohio State University President Ravi Bellamkonda speaks at the university on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

FILE - This May 8, 2019, file photo, shows a sign for Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Angie Wang, File)