By Judy Giannettino For ABQjournal
If staring out a window isn't your idea of fun, try gazing through the 1,750 square feet of glass at the Albuquerque International Sunport's new observation deck.
The window — it's actually several panes pieced together — offers views of all the airport's runways, so you can watch planes soar into the sky or appear out of nowhere and touch down. All that nature has to offer to the east, south and west also can be seen.
It's cheap entertainment — the only cost is for parking at the airport, it's open 24 hours a day, and the kids will love it.
The deck, in fact, was dedicated by Mayor Martin Chavez to the city's children. A plaque mounted on a railing in the 2,500-square-feet deck says: "Dedicated to the children of Albuquerque. May the eternal wonder of flight cause your imagination to soar."
On a recent afternoon, however, more adults than children perched on the deck's chairs and couches and stared out the window.
Comments about the 2-month-old deck echoed the same refrain, with "wonderful," "nice" and "pretty" being the most common words used to describe it.
"Kids love it," said Maggie Santiago, public affairs officer for the airport.
Mario Aguirre, terminal operations manager, said, "We're trying to make the airport more than just a travel spot but (also) a destination for citizens."
"Go to the airport and just visit," Aguirre said.
Indeed, in years past, a lot of people did just that, said Santiago, who has worked at the airport for 17 years.
"People would come for brunch (at the old Kachina Room dining room) and then go to the deck," she said.
The old Sunport had an outdoor observation deck that was closed off in the mid-1980s, Aguirre said.
The new, enclosed one is more comfortable. Southwestern-style furniture and an embossed concrete floor slab made to simulate natural stone make the deck distinctly New Mexican. Two huge replicas of saguaro cacti are the only items that appear out of place.
The deck sits at the end of the airport's connecting corridor to the A and B concourses — above the hubbub of airport life. An elevator with glass sides that let you see down the lengths of the concourses and staircases from each concourse lead to the deck. Speakers quietly broadcast communications between airport tower officials and pilots.
The lighting is subdued so no bright lights shine through the glass and into the vision of pilots. And from the outside, no one can see in — the window is tinted gold.
The deck isn't without controversy. It was $1 million over budget and was built by a contractor who didn't have to bid on the job. Airport officials have said they had to build the deck quickly because a food court was under construction below the observation area.
To avoid a lengthy bid process, city officials say they took advantage of purchasing rules that allow for "sole-source procurements" and awarded the contract to build the deck to the company already building the food court.
The project ended up costing $2.2 million.
The airport already has gotten requests from people who want to use the deck for special occasions, including one woman who wants to hold her wedding there, Aguirre and Santiago said. No set policy on how to accommodate such requests has been drawn up yet, they said.
For anyone else, though, the deck is just a drive away.
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