The new midfield terminal isn't the only project planned for the airport. Officials are also soliciting proposals for a new airport hotel. That hotel is planned for a 10- to 11-acre site just west of the new terminal.
Airport officials christened a massive drilling machine, one they'll use it in construction of the new midfield terminal. As that building starts to take shape, officials are turning to another project: a new $40 to $45 million airport hotel.
"We're asking for a proposal that would be funded entirely by the developer with the option of the airport to participate," said John Kish, Midfield project director.
Kish says plans call for the hotel to go just west of the new terminal, alongside the parking garage. He says they want a full-service, three- to four-star hotel run by a nationally known name.
"We're asking for 250 rooms, appropriate meeting space and probably a restaurant," he said.
It would be a hotel perhaps similar in size to the five-story Airport Holiday Inn that would include also a concierge, fitness area, laundry service and business center.
Kish says having a hotel near the terminal is critical for flight crews and business travelers like John Argos from Phoenix, who always stays at the closest hotel. "It's a big deal for convenience. I don't have to worry about a rental car and things like that. The company I call on is close," he said.
Once the new terminal opens, the Radison, Holiday Inn and other nearby hotels will no longer be a walk away. Passengers will have to take the shuttle. Instead of just a loop around the terminal, guests will have to travel a few miles.
Whether the hotels remain at their current location, Kish says the market will decide.
Plans for construction of the new hotel to start in 2007 opening with the new terminal in late 2008.
