St. Pete-Clearwater Airport shelves terminal expansion plans for $145 million modernization project

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is shelving its terminal expansion plans in desire of a renovation challenge to modernize the present facility.

Located in north St. Pete at 14700 Terminal Boulevard, PIE serves larger than 2 million travelers every year and offers nonstop routes to bigger than 60 cities, primarily through Allegiant Air.

Since 2023, the airport has been preparing for a ramification that would add gates for existing and future airways, consolidate Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints, and pork up passenger boarding.

Alternatively, as engineers and designers developed schematic designs, the tag of the terminal expansion climbed from a projected $110 million to bigger than $200 million.

After conferences with airport team, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the TSA, a fresh precedence emerged: modernizing the original terminal and addressing aging infrastructure.

“Rather than proceed to transfer ahead, we exercised due diligence and took the chance to conclude and reassess the program,” Airport Director Label Sprague talked about at some stage in a Pinellas County Commission workshop closing week.

The terminal renovation idea comprises 13 ingredients, corresponding to sewer and roof work, restroom upgrades, changing two existing jet bridges, a hearth-control-panel pork up, up to this point signage and columns, a fresh wall along the terminal’s south facet, and renovations to the condo-automobile counters, baggage set and ticketing home.

The challenge would additionally add four jet bridges and a 2nd stage for bags deliver.

The fresh idea would tag $145 million and would be funded through airport revenues, the FAA, and FDOT, allowing PIE to reside debt-free.

“We’re no longer forsaking future expansion. We’re actual sequencing our investments in one more plot,” the PIE personnel explained in a file.

“Our instantaneous precedence is modernizing the present terminal and making improvements to operational effectivity. The revised program silent comprises roughly 40,000 square toes of strategic expansion while conserving flexibility for future notify as passenger demand warrants.”

A future terminal expansion would possibly possibly additionally add four to five passenger boarding bridges and virtually double the airport’s gate count from 12 to 22, supporting as much as 4.5 million travelers every year.

For the time being, one gate door is frail to board three airplane, a setup Sprague talked about creates significant operational inefficiencies.

“An ultra-low-tag carrier airplane needs to be capable of terminate relieve in, offload, and reload in 40 minutes,” Sprague talked about. “Thanks to our inefficiencies, it takes 60 to 120 minutes to turn that airplane around.”

While Allegiant stays the airport’s leading airline, BermudAir will starting up up providing seasonal nonstop flights to Turks and Caicos, Belize, and Anguilla in December.

Solar Nation, which is owned by Allegiant Air, additionally offers explain carrier to Minneapolis.

“In show to bring a fresh airline that would possibly possibly wait on notify, we want to modernize the terminal first,” Sprague talked about, responding to commissioners’ feedback relating to efforts to blueprint extra airways. “We should always always fix all our inefficiencies in show for the original terminal to be plot more with out pain accessible and buyer-friendly.”

Pending approvals, construction on the terminal renovation challenge is anticipated to begin up in gradual 2028 and be performed by 2032.

With the rescoped idea, the airport is attempting for to amend two previously common agreements with Big apple Building Community, serving because the notify supervisor, and C&S Companies, the architectural and engineering agency for the terminal improvements.

PIE additionally plans to enter a fresh five-year operating settlement with Allegiant that would develop prices and lead to an extra $1.2 million in earnings in 2027.

Pinellas County commissioners will vote on the terminal renovation contracts and Allegiant settlement at a September board assembly.

Modified into self ample from the modernization idea and amended contracts, PIE is additionally preparing to begin up construction on a fresh four-memoir parking storage.

The storage, budgeted at $60 million and funded through airport revenues, is predicted to demolish floor in January 2027 and replace the original Strawberry PIE financial system lot.