New 2,400-space parking garage in works for Jacksonville International Airport

The Jacksonville Aviation Authority plans to expand a parking garage at Jacksonville International Airport by building a new six-level garage with 2,400 spaces.
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority plans to expand a parking garage at Jacksonville International Airport by building a new six-level garage with 2,400 spaces.

The holiday season was a fresh reminder that Jacksonville International Airport parking spaces can fill up fast as overhead bins on a sold-out flight.

The Jacksonville Aviation Authority expects that when a new $300 million concourse opens in about three years, the addition of flights from that expansion will add even more pressure on parking at the airport.

That outlook is pushing the aviation authority to make plans for building a new 2,400 space garage while also constructing the concourse.

"This parking garage is going to be coming sooner than later, but the sooner the better as we move forward with additional flights and capacity," JAA CEO Mark VanLoh said.

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Preliminary estimates are that the new garage could cost from $58 million to $96 million, adding another big-ticket project for Jacksonville International Airport on top of the concourse.

JAA administrators could seek the aviation authority board's approval in January for putting money toward design of a six-story garage that will expand an existing garage next to the airport terminal by building over what's now surface parking.

Jacksonville International Airport parking area locations
Jacksonville International Airport parking area locations

VanLoh said the construction will cause some disruptions over a two-year period because it remove some  parking lots from use while the garage is being built.

"It will cause a little bit of pain to our customers to try to reroute traffic and making sure everybody has a place to park that wants a place to park," he said.

He said the next step will be to work on a financing strategy.

"It will not be, as you can imagine, inexpensive," he said. "Garages never are."

He said the rule of thumb in the industry has been that garages cost about $24,000 per space, which would put the cost at around $58 million, but he's heard more recent estimates that it could be in the range of $40,000 per space because of higher construction costs. At the high end of the range, the garage would cost about $96 million.

Parking fees are the aviation authority's biggest source of revenue at Jacksonville International Airport.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Aviation Authority plans parking garage for airport