Gainesville Regional Airport has plans to build a new, 4-story parking garage this fall. According to CEO Allan Penksa, the garage will have approximately 420 spaces and will include a covered walkway to the terminal. It will also feature electric vehicle charging stations.
Penksa said the airport deals with a lot of curb congestion during flight times. The new garage will have a covered sidewalk for bus, Uber and taxi pickup and dropoff to ease congestion and improve pedestrian safety.
“It'll be a facility that will greatly enhance the safety and the security of our folks that have disabilities and the elderly,” he said.
The garage itself will cost a little over $11 million. Half of the funding will come from the airport itself and the other half from the Florida Department of Transportation. The walkway will cost about $1.8 million, with the majority of the money coming from a federal infrastructure grant.
The airport has not settled on a rate for the parking garage, but Penksa said they plan on it being “a very affordable option as covered parking goes.”
Part of the permitting process for the garage includes holding a neighborhood workshop for people who live near the airport who might be impacted by construction. The workshop will be held via Zoom on June 7 at 6 p.m. Penksa said he doesn’t expect many people to voice concerns.
“Anyone that lives close to us and would think they would be affected by the garage, certainly could come out, give comment, but really we don't have any close-by neighbors,” he said.