One year after re-starting the project due to the bad economy, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's new Rental Car Facility celebrated it's topping off Wednesday morning, July 14, with the help of one of the four tower cranes on-site to signal the halfway point of a project creating an estimated 3,000 jobs.

The Port of Seattle, the City of SeaTac, Turner Construction and representatives from the rental car industry and Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council placed their signatures on the top beam before it was lifted into place.
"The Port of Seattle's mission is to create economic vitality," said Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton. "One of the ways we do that is by building transportation infrastructure in the region. This project provides family wage jobs for our community members."
Construction on the $419 million, 23-acre site will generate more than 3,000 local, family-wage jobs and nearly $2 million in tax revenue for the City of SeaTac over the life of the project, according to Port staffers.

The facility is scheduled to open in spring of 2012.

Jack Beaudoin, general manager for Turner Construction said, "This is a great day and one we've all worked for hard for. We have believed all along in the viability of this project and the 'shovel ready' jobs it has provided, including more than 670,000 worker hours.

"This is giving an important boost to our regional economy and the families of the thousands of workers this project has touched so far."
The consolidated rental car facility will support all airport-related rental car operations at one location. It is designed to meet the current and future demands of the traveling public, Port officials noted.

The facility will be a five-story structure that is designed to greatly improve the size, space, and efficiency of rental car operations that are currently spread out from the main terminal garage and multiple off-site locations.

In addition, the facility will open up two floors of public parking-- more than 3,200 spaces-- in the main terminal garage.
The project was temporarily suspended in December 2008 due to the meltdown in the global credit market. The Port of Seattle Commission approved the successful sale of $317 million in revenue bonds in late June 2009 in order to re-start the project.

A Customer Facility Charge (CFC) added to each car rental will pay for virtually the entire cost of the project, with the additional non-CFC costs covered through non-aeronautical revenue funds.

A $4 per transaction day CFC started in February 2006. The CFC was increased to $5 per transaction day in July 2008. When the facility opens in spring 2012, the CFC is expected to be about $6, which is comparable to current major airports with consolidated rental facilities.