Thrive
St. Pete-Clearwater Airport budgets $60 million for parking
“This parking structure will be paid in full – no loans, no bonds.”
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) recently warned holiday travelers not to park at the increasingly popular facility. Relief is on the way – but not until the end of 2027.
Pinellas County commissioners unanimously approved a $3.1 million design-build contract with Apopka-based Finrock Construction at their Dec. 16 meeting. The project includes a new 2,000-space parking garage, a 300-space surface lot and multiple other related upgrades.
PIE has allocated $60 million to what County Administrator Barry Burton has called a “parking crisis.” Commissioner Dave Eggers noted the project’s importance to Allegiant Airlines and the surrounding area.
“This is a 30% increase in our parking,” Burton said. “This increases our parking significantly.”
Mark Sprague, interim airport director, said the design phase will commence in January and conclude by the end of 2026. He expects an approximately one-year construction process, with the county-owned facility’s first garage opening in late 2027.
Pinellas officials discussed the project in more detail during a workshop Dec. 11. Sprague said the airport’s long-term lot closed between Friday and Sunday throughout the first 11 months of the year.
Flyers are flocking to PIE, which offers 60 more flights than it did during the 2024 holiday season. The airport has already surpassed its previous record for passengers, 2.49 million, set in 2023.
PIE’s passenger count topped 2.56 million by the end of November. Sprague said between 2.65 million and 2.7 million people would choose the local airport this year.
However, the facility only offers 3,260 parking spaces, and many require time-consuming shuttle trips. Sprague said there are often 100 people waiting in line for a limited number of seats.
He also noted that a frontage road lacks signage to warn flyers when lots reach capacity. “We’re putting that extra stress on our passengers … It results in an overall decrease in customer experience satisfaction,” Sprague added.
A four-story garage will replace the secondary economy (Strawberry) lot. PIE will also offer a dedicated shuttle priority route to reduce wait times.
Finrock Construction will reconstruct and upgrade the Roosevelt Boulevard and Fairchild Drive intersection to accommodate additional left-turning vehicles. That will become the garage’s primary access point.
Airport officials previously estimated the project would cost $45 million. They have allocated $30 million from grants and revenues, with reserve funding supporting the remaining $30 million.
“That’s on one-third of our reserves,” Spraugue said. “So this parking structure will be paid in full – no loans, no bonds – and we’ll still have two-thirds of a healthy reserve for necessary future projects.”
Those future projects include a previously estimated $180 million to $220 million terminal expansion. A $15.4 million new taxiway, approved in November, will significantly increase revenue once complete.
An aerial view of the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. A new taxiway will connect to the 130-acre Airco property (right). Photo provided.
Commissioner Vince Nowicki asked if airport officials “exhausted all surface lot options before diving head-first” into a $60 million endeavor. “It just seems like we could be shortening a project somewhere else, potentially, by using one-third of our reserves,” he said.
Sprague said the facility lacks suitable land for additional surface parking. He also noted that PIE cannot sustain recent growth when both economy lots regularly reach capacity.
Allegiant continues to expand its footprint at PIE. The airline will begin offering new flights to Atlantic City and Trenton, New Jersey, in February, and Huntsville, Alabama, in March.
“Commissioners, you also heard from Allegiant – that’s the biggest complaint,” Burton said of the parking woes.
Burton reiterated that Allegiant prioritized parking upgrades over the terminal expansion. He said county officials needed to solve the former issue today, and PIE’s leadership will present revised plans regarding the latter to the commission at a later date.
Nowicki, at Tuesday’s meeting, questioned why the airport chose to build a garage farther away rather than at the short-term parking lot adjacent to the terminal, “like every other airport in the country.”
He also expressed concern over staff-recommended plans to build a second parking garage closer to the terminal in the future. Nowicki later told the Catalyst that the additional construction – even if it is five or 10 years away – would inconvenience residents twice, particularly without creating a temporary lot.
“The lots that are full all the time are those lots up front, because that’s where everybody wants to park,” Nowicki added. “They know everybody is still going to park up front, even with a parking garage in the back. And it’s going to increase our long-term operating expenses by having to increase shuttle services.”
Burton said short-term spaces are available “most times of the year,” and that would be “the most inconvenient” lot to eliminate. He also noted that the airport’s consultant “does this for a living,” and staff recommended approving those plans.
Sprague explained that if a future need arises, PIE could either expand the garage horizontally or consider building a second parking facility in another area. “But at this point, it’s just enough to get supply.”
“We feel that 2,000 spaces, plus the 300 in surface parking, is ideal – not only for today, but for tomorrow,” Sprague said. “By the end of 2026, we’ll know our construction costs.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional information.
