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U.S. Customs and Border Protection will move to a new location at Tucson International Airport’s old executive terminal, perhaps by year’s end, under a lease approved Wednesday by the Tucson Airport Authority board of directors.

The move from the main terminal to the general aviation side of the airport will give CBP better visibility to private aircraft arriving at TIA, which is a designated U.S. Port of Entry airport, TAA said.

People arriving for interviews as part of CBP’s Global Entry program will face less congestion than the current location, which required parking at the main terminal lots.

The plan includes a $1.8 million renovation of the former Tucson Executive Terminal, 7081 S. Plumer Ave., at the base of the now-decommissioned, 1950s-era air traffic control tower.

That facility has largely been unused since controllers moved to the new air-traffic control tower on the west side of the airfield in September 2016.

Since the mid-1980s, Customs has been located in the former International Building, part of which has been converted for use as the C Gates for commercial airlines and charter flights.

Although general aviation aircraft are still processed in that location, the CBP moved its Federal Inspection Services for airlines into the main terminal in 2008.

“Not only is this a better use of TAA facilities and resources, it will give our arriving international customers a better and more welcoming impression of Tucson and our airport,” Danette Bewley, TAA President and CEO, said in a news release.

“Because (TIA) is a Port of Entry, it’s not uncommon for business leaders and other VIPs to land here to go through Customs, and our existing facility is outdated and not very inviting.”

Design work has been completed for the new CBP facility and the airport expects to award a construction contract soon, with construction beginning by the end of this month, said Mike Smejkal, TAA’s vice president of planning and engineering.

Construction could take up to eight months, and the CBP could move by the end of this year, the airport authority said.

In 2019, the CBP at TIA processed 2,017 aircraft arrivals — an average of 5.5 per day — with 8,207 passengers. The airport CBP also processed $1.1 billion in imported international merchandise and conducted 42,567 interviews for enrollment in Global Entry.

Under the terms of the lease, the TAA will pay for the renovation, and CBP requires the space be provided at no cost for rent, utilities, maintenance and repairs, which the Airport Authority said is typical for leases by federal government agencies at airports.

The initial term is one-year with 19 successive automatic one-year renewals at the option of the CBP, which can elect to terminate the lease with six months’ notice.

The Airport Authority has not determined what will happen to the space being vacated by the CBP but Smejkal said there have been preliminary discussions that it could be renovated a number of different ways as needs develop.