St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport is going to undergo renovations — eventually.
The design phase for things like a new parking garage and infrastructure improvements should start in the fall.
The initial project, conceived in 2024, included a terminal expansion and a new parking garage and had a budget of $110 million.
However, airport spokesperson Michele Routh said the plan had to be re-structured to focus on more urgent matters — repairing the airport’s aging infrastructure and dealing with an unprecedented growth in annual flyers.
“We are still expanding to an extent, but we don't call it an expansion project,” she said. “The airport terminal is about a little over 1,000 acres. So our footprint's not getting bigger. We're working within our space anyways, but we are going to add.”
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The 2024 plan included consolidating the airport’s two TSA checkpoints into one and adding escalators, which Routh said was going to cost more money than the airport had saved and be disruptive to travelers.
“The project that was being designed was significantly more than [$110 million].” she said. “That was part of the reason that we needed to re-scope, but we also needed to prioritize the parking garage.”
Current plans still include that garage, as well as four additional passenger loading bridges, more seating in waiting areas and a second level to the baggage claim facility.
Last year, Routh said the airport saw its most passengers ever, with 2.8 million travelers. That growth can make it hard for people to find parking spots in the area that is currently available.
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“This is not firm yet, but it's looking like we'll have 1,700 additional parking spaces,” she said. “That will really help us figure out the growth.”
The airport currently has around $145 million budgeted for the renovations, drawing from FAA grants and reserves.
“We have to look at the entire pot of money with that parking garage and terminal improvement,” she said. “We continue to apply for grants, we're always going to be after money. Right now, the pot of money is approximately $145 million. So scoping and design is looking at those parameters.”
Routh added it’s still too early to know exactly when construction will start and how long it will take, but she expects it won’t be concluded until early 2028.
“Airports are constantly having to plan for future terminal improvements and expansions all the time,” she said. “So this won't be the end of it by any stretch of the imagination, but it will get us to a point where we're able to accommodate our growth for the next several years.”
