By Rebecca Henely
In the latest chapter of its ongoing expansion, LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst has approved an $82.9 million design and construction of a new parking garage.
The garage will be built opposite Delta Airlines’ Terminal C and will accommodate about 1,100 new vehicles, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced last week. The new garage is the most recent in an ongoing series of modernizations at the airport and will accommodate the expected increase in Delta flyers going to LaGuardia Terminals C and D as they are renovated.
“The Port Authority has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to transform its airports into world-class facilities,” Port Authority Vice Chairman Scott Rechler said in a statement. “This project continues that effort and will ensure there is sufficient parking to address our projections for substantial growth in air travel at this vital aviation facility in the decades to come.”
LaGuardia broke ground on a $160 million renovation last April, including a connecting bridge between Terminals C and D, a new Delta Sky Club and expanded security lanes at both terminals.
The airport will start work on the garage later this year and expects to complete the garage in February 2015. The garage will be finished before Parking Lot 2 is demolished. The new Central Terminal Building will be built in the former spot of Parking Lot 2.
The Port Authority expects the garage will create about 500 jobs both directly and indirectly, adding up to about $33 million in wages and $140 million in economic activity.
LaGuardia currently has 6,800 public spaces. They create $41 million in gross revenues and $24 million in net revenues a year.
U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) has been keeping a close eye on the expansion and once assisted it when he supported a swap of US Airways plane slots at LaGuardia for Delta slots at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.
His spokeswoman, Courtney Gidner, said the congressman would continue to monitor the situation.
“The revitalization of LaGuardia brings many benefits to the constituents of this area as well as the local economy,” she said.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
