Spokane International Airport plans to launch next year a $14 million upgrade to the rental-car area located northeast of the main terminal, including construction of a 22,000-square-foot service facility and expansion of the lot where vehicles are picked up and returned.


Design of the project is still under way, and airport spokesman Todd Woodard cautions that many of the details have yet to be worked out.


The airport, however, expects to seek a contractor for the project early next year and to begin construction soon after, with the intent of having the improved area operational by the end of 2008. Woodard says its possible some site work could begin this fall.


The project is being designed by Cortner Architectural Co., of Spokane.


The project will enable the airport to consolidate into one new facility rental-car service activities currently conducted in seven smaller buildings nearby, Woodard says. There is a finite amount of footprint available near the terminal, and this project will free up land for other uses later, he says. In addition, the project will increase to 566 the number of ready-return spaces, where vehicles await rental and are returned by customers. Currently, the airport has 357 such spaces.


The new service facility will be located a couple hundred yards northeast of the main terminal, close to Flint Road, Woodard says. It is to include 10 service bays where rental-car companies can clean and prepare returned rental cars for their next rental, according to the airports most recent newsletter Arrivals.


The facility will include a car wash, space for light maintenance, a fueling facility, and a vacuum system, it says.


The newsletter says the project will enable rental-car companies to return vehicles to service more efficiently. Also, customer-service kiosks will be installed in the ready-return lot to help travelers.


The rental-car wing of the main terminal, which houses booths where customers rent vehicles, wont be affected by the project. That wing recently was modified to accommodate an eighth rental-car company, Alamo Rent A Car, in a minor project, Woodard says.


We now have all the major rental agencies, he says.


While the larger project is under way, a temporary rental-car lot will be designated to the north of the outside parking lot thats adjacent the parking garages at the airport.


The airport will provide temporary signs and maps to alleviate confusion for travelers during the project, the airport newsletter says.


For the past two years, the airport has been conducting a multimillion upgrade and reorganization of its main terminal area, as is spending millions of dollars on projects elsewhere on the airport property.


Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration recently completed work on a new, nearly $30 million air-traffic control tower, now located on the south side of the airport.


Contact Paul Read at (509) 344-1262 or via e-mail at paulr@spokanejournal.com.