San Diego County Regional Airport Authority – Rental Car Center – Construction Today
posted underWith mobile communications, the whole rental car industry is in a state of flux as legacy companies compete with Internet start-ups that offer car rental by the hour and locations all over cities.
“Because of the cell phone and other technology, the rental car business is changing,” points out Bob Bolton, director of design and construction for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. “There’s a bunch of companies that are starting to show up that are changing the rental car model.”
Those changes are being incorporated in the new rental car center that is being built as part of the north side development at San Diego International Airport. “More than 95 percent of the cars being rented at this airport now will be contained in this building,” Bolton states. “Right now, we have plans for 16 brands, and there is capacity in this building to add more brands. This building is designed to be flexible and accommodate the technology and the industry of the future. These facilities are set up for 30 years of business.”
The north side development is being built on tideland where an aviation company built airplanes during World War II. The company left the land vacant in the late 1990s, and it is now under long-term lease to the airport authority. Completed on the site in 2012 is a new central receiving and distribution center, and the site will host a new long-term parking lot to be completed by March. Additionally, a private general aviation facility will be finished this year.
Construction began in September 2013 on the 2-million-square-foot, four-level rental car center that will accommodate 5,000 vehicles and aim for LEED Silver certification. The huge $316 million facility – which will be financed by car facility charges – is due to be topped out in December, completed in October 2015 and operational by January 2016. “It’s pretty much the length of five football fields,” Bolton estimates.
