Charleston International's passenger growth is accelerating plans to add more parking and more boarding gates, but each project will come with a hefty price tag.
The airport saw more than 6 million passengers come and go last year, and the number of nonstop flights has more than tripled over the past three years.
To keep pace, projects totaling nearly $1 billion are in the design or construction pipeline, according to a presentation this week.
Hernan Peña, the deputy executive director for the Charleston County Aviation Authority, provided a status update at an April 18 board meeting. He said it’s critical that the airport “isn’t overbuilding or underbuilding."
Among the factors that must be considered are cost, parking logistics and a finite amount of land that can be developed. Paying for the projects will involve a mix of financing and local, state and federal funding or grants.
“We wouldn't trade Joint Base Charleston or the Boeing Co. for anything because what they do for the economy and community is more than I can describe," said CEO Elliott Summey, referring to the airport's next-door neighbors. "But it has put us in a situation where growth is limited by the amount of our real estate.”
A diagram lays out the hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of expansion projects proposed for Charleston International.
One of the biggest projects on the short-term to-do list is a new parking garage that would be built on the site of a paved lot. It would require the relocation of 1,200 spaces and cost between $253 million and $313 million
The proposed six-level structure would be the airport's third deck, with room for 5,700 vehicles. One option the CHS board is weighing is whether to consolidate its rental-car tenants to the new garage, which would free up a roughly 15-acre lot that could accommodate another 2,000 automobiles. No decision has been made.
“Certainly as we continue to grow this community and airport, these efficiency issues we face now become bigger issues,” Summey said.
The garage project would be split into two construction phases, partly for funding reasons and also to retain as much parking near the passenger terminal as possible. In the first phase, half would be built, leaving spaces in the ground lot available. The completion date for the second phase would be around mid-2026.
“If we do not pursue the phased approach, the financial implication of that comes with the costs associated with offsite parking," Summey said. "We’ll have to do it one way or the other, but we’ll need less of it if we break this up in phases, which lessens the impact on passengers and finances."
Another big-ticket item is a $500 million multifaceted terminal expansion and improvement plan that includes "East Concourse," which would add five boarding gates at CHS, more curbside space for drop-offs and pickups, a new lounge and a larger baggage-handling area.
Also, a $23 million federally funded relocation of the overnight aircraft parking area on the tarmac is nearing the end of the design phase, with a projected 2025 start date.
Other capital projects on the drawing board include expanding the ticket lobby, the federal security area, staff offices and retail space.
Charleston International Airport’s 20-year plan calls for the construction of “Concourse C,” a seven-gate expansion shown in blue to the left of the passenger terminal.
As part of a 20-year master plan, a third passenger concourse could be built eventually, adding seven more gates at Charleston International.
Tourism official Helen Hill, who is chair of the aviation authority, said the growth of the airport will be driven by its infrastructure investments.
“If we had the gates, we’d have the flights to be at 8 million visitors right now, not 6 million,” she said. “We’ve seen steady growth with both our legacy and budget carriers and more that want to come.”
