A car rental company shuttle passes individuals waiting for a ride at Denver International Airport. (Courtesy DIA)
“Rental car row” may soon go on a diet.
Denver International Airport said this week that it plans to build a new multilevel facility for companies like Enterprise, Avis and Hertz — freeing up the land that their sprawling surface lots currently use.
Currently, five rental firms operate on 160 acres along 78th Avenue west of the airport, running shuttles to pick up and drop off their customers at the main terminal.
DIA’s plan is to build the new facility just east of rental car row at 26296 E. 78th Ave., on what is currently a parking lot for airport employees. That facility will be connected to the terminal with an “automated people mover,” a type of light rail infrastructure.
“I think having that quick, efficient way to get people back and forth from the facility to the terminal is really important, both from a customer experience, really giving people that world-class experience when they’re renting a car, but also on the sustainability side,” said Jim Starling, chief construction and infrastructure officer for DIA.
The project is expected to cost north of $1 billion, according to Starling.
The effort to improve DIA’s rental car infrastructure is part of the recently announced “Operation 2045” plan, which calls for expanding airport infrastructure to accommodate 120 million yearly passengers by 2045. Other related projects include adding four new concourses and 100 additional gates.
The car rental operators currently have 12,760 spaces, according to DIA. The plan is for the new development to feature 16,130 spaces — an increase of about 26 percent. The $6 fee that every car rental customer currently pays will go toward the cost of the project.
Parking spaces will be allocated to each company proportionately to their market share, changing to accommodate growing and shrinking providers, Starling said. The land the rental firms currently use will then be freed up for new commercial development.
“Its proximity to the terminal, I think, would make it attractive for development,” Starling said. “We don’t have any specific plans right now, but that’s something that we’ll explore as we move forward on this project.”
DIA has a “rolling request for offers” out to developers that want to build on airport land. That rolling request will extend to the existing rental car land, but the airport may also issue requests for specific desired uses, Starling added.
“The Westin Hotel that the airport built is a great amenity for travelers – very high usage – but there could be another hotel,” Starling said.
Starling said it’s possible the people mover could extend to serve businesses that move in.
DIA will begin the process of requesting proposals for development of the rental car site by late next year.
A drawing showing the location and scale of the proposed new facility. (Courtesy DIA)
A car rental company shuttle passes individuals waiting for a ride at Denver International Airport. (Courtesy DIA)
“Rental car row” may soon go on a diet.
Denver International Airport said this week that it plans to build a new multilevel facility for companies like Enterprise, Avis and Hertz — freeing up the land that their sprawling surface lots currently use.
Currently, five rental firms operate on 160 acres along 78th Avenue west of the airport, running shuttles to pick up and drop off their customers at the main terminal.
DIA’s plan is to build the new facility just east of rental car row at 26296 E. 78th Ave., on what is currently a parking lot for airport employees. That facility will be connected to the terminal with an “automated people mover,” a type of light rail infrastructure.
“I think having that quick, efficient way to get people back and forth from the facility to the terminal is really important, both from a customer experience, really giving people that world-class experience when they’re renting a car, but also on the sustainability side,” said Jim Starling, chief construction and infrastructure officer for DIA.
The project is expected to cost north of $1 billion, according to Starling.
The effort to improve DIA’s rental car infrastructure is part of the recently announced “Operation 2045” plan, which calls for expanding airport infrastructure to accommodate 120 million yearly passengers by 2045. Other related projects include adding four new concourses and 100 additional gates.
The car rental operators currently have 12,760 spaces, according to DIA. The plan is for the new development to feature 16,130 spaces — an increase of about 26 percent. The $6 fee that every car rental customer currently pays will go toward the cost of the project.
Parking spaces will be allocated to each company proportionately to their market share, changing to accommodate growing and shrinking providers, Starling said. The land the rental firms currently use will then be freed up for new commercial development.
“Its proximity to the terminal, I think, would make it attractive for development,” Starling said. “We don’t have any specific plans right now, but that’s something that we’ll explore as we move forward on this project.”
DIA has a “rolling request for offers” out to developers that want to build on airport land. That rolling request will extend to the existing rental car land, but the airport may also issue requests for specific desired uses, Starling added.
“The Westin Hotel that the airport built is a great amenity for travelers – very high usage – but there could be another hotel,” Starling said.
Starling said it’s possible the people mover could extend to serve businesses that move in.
DIA will begin the process of requesting proposals for development of the rental car site by late next year.
A drawing showing the location and scale of the proposed new facility. (Courtesy DIA)
