Pinellas airport to build $45 million parking garage

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) will soon have its first structured parking garage to accommodate ongoing exponential growth.

According to recently released statistics, PIE is on pace to serve 2.74 million passengers in 2025, which would shatter the previous record of 2.49 million set in 2023. Michele Routh, public relations director, said leadership realized they could not wait for a much-anticipated terminal expansion to increase parking capacity.

Pinellas County, which operates the airport, began soliciting proposals from design-build services firms June 6. The project includes a 1,300-space, pre-cast parking garage, a 500-space surface parking lot, intersection reconstruction and “other elements needed to support the parking operation.”

“From 2014 to 2024, our passengers increased by 197%,” Routh said. “So, we’re trying to keep up with growth at every stage of the game.”

PIE has about 3,200 spaces between its short-term, long-term, overflow and economy surface parking lots. A four-level garage will replace the secondary economy lot, dubbed Strawberry Pie, on the terminal side of bustling Roosevelt Boulevard.

Key Lime Pie, currently the primary economy lot, is closer to the terminal but sits on the opposite side of the thoroughfare. “So, we’ll be able to offer shuttle service with more express,” Routh said.

A map of the current parking system at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. The new garage will replace the surface lot in the upper left-hand corner. Image: PIE.

The request for proposals (RFP) states that a dedicated shuttle service priority route will reduce headways and enhance reliability. Officials believe the changes will minimize wait times, improve customer experiences and ensure “timely transportation between the terminal and parking facility.”

The selected firm will also reconstruct and upgrade the Roosevelt Boulevard ramp and Fairchild Drive intersection to “boost the capacity of left-turning vehicles heading to the Strawberry Pie Lot entry plaza.” That will be the new parking garage’s primary access point.

“Just the fact that you don’t have to wait at a traffic light to cross Roosevelt Boulevard will streamline shuttle service,” Routh said. “Now they have to deal with traffic, and sometimes, you might have to sit through two lights to get out.”

Documents also note the importance of optimizing costs and adhering to the project’s budget. Officials want to minimize amenities and maximize the number of new spaces.

“It will cost – hopefully, not more than $45 million,” Routh said. “But that’s the ballpark of it.”

Creating a user-friendly design is also a focal point for county and airport officials. The RFP stresses the importance of developing an intuitive and approachable parking system with “clear signage, easy navigation, accessible information points, and convenient access points.”

Routh credited Allegiant Airlines, PIE’s primary carrier, for its explosive growth. The airport recorded under a million passengers in 2012 and reached the two million benchmark in 2017.

PIE has served over 100,000 more passengers through the first four months of 2026, despite the area recovering from an unprecedented hurricane season, than it did in 2024. “A couple of years ago, our airport had the highest capacity on our aircraft, for the entire year, of anywhere in the country,” Routh said.

Companies have until June 26 to submit questions for the parking garage project. Proposal submissions are due July 8.

The design process for an estimated $180 million to $220 million terminal expansion, the largest in PIE’s history, is underway and should conclude in the summer of 2025. Routh said the airport must remain fully operational throughout the project.

Routh said ridership on the Grouper Express, an on-demand shuttle service from PIE to Clearwater Beach, has increased monthly. She would also like to see a new Grouper shuttle to downtown St. Petersburg, a sought-after destination for tourists.