Wichita Mid-Continent Airport parking garage work progressing

The rising four-story, state-of-the-art parking garage at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport has received less attention than the new aviation-themed terminal building going up nearby.

But planners say people will be pleased by what they see when the garage opens in the spring of 2015.

“I think the public is going to be surprised when this all opens,” said Sam Frey, a principal with Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture in Wichita, who is working on the project. “I think they’ll see real convenience when it opens.”

The sprawling 560,000-square-foot parking garage will open at the same time as the new terminal, said Brad Christopher, Wichita Airport Authority assistant director of airports.

The garage will include adjacent new rental car facilities. Rental car counters will no longer be located in the baggage area.

There also will be surface parking outside the garage, including “close-in” parking, economy parking and the remote shuttle parking called Park & Ride.

In all, parking spots will increase 35 percent, from 3,370 spaces to 4,566, airport information said.

The first floor of the garage will include customer service counters, offices for six rental car companies and 374 spaces for rental cars. The first floor is where customers will pick up and return cars.

The remaining three levels will include 1,200 public parking spaces, about 400 on each level.

And there’s room for expansion.

Construction for the garage and the terminal has caused a lot of disruption for airport users over the past year or more.

But, “I hope the public sees it and says, ‘Wow. It’s going to be worth it,’” Christopher said.

A large steel-and-glass canopy will extend over the crosswalk between the garage and the terminal building. And an all-glass front on the parking garage will retain the architectural flavor of the terminal building.

“We’re doing our best to try to make a square concrete building dress up and look nice,” Christopher said. “It’s got to function and achieve its intended purpose.”

For one, the garage has been situated so it won’t be the first thing the public notices when they drive into the airport, he said.

Instead, they will see the new terminal building.

“We didn’t want the public coming in and the first thing they see coming off the hill is a big concrete building,” Christopher said. “So the garage is offset.”

Overhead signs will give directions to parking, and a car-counting system will tell drivers how many spaces are available in each lot and in each level of the parking garage, he said.

That familiar automated woman’s voice who flatly says to “Take the ticket,” when a parking ticket is pulled will be gone.

“She’s about 40 years old,” Christopher said. “We’re going to let her retire.”

Customers will pay for parking at one of five exit booths, including three manned and two automated, express booths.

The garage is being built for safety, Christopher said.

Uncovered exterior ramps in the parking garage will have an internal heating system under the pavement to keep it from freezing and ice from forming.

The stair towers will be all-glass and lit for security purposes. Elevators will be air-conditioned.

The structure will have security cameras throughout, and all the levels will have plenty of lighting, Christopher said.

Since it will be a 24-hour facility, the lights will never turn off, he said.

It will have emergency call stations for additional security. And airport police officers will monitor the garage, Christopher said.

Landscaping will include native stone and plantings of native grass and flowers, Christopher said.

It’s a “prairie-scape,” Frey added.

Self-supporting project

The $40 million parking project is being financed by general obligation bonds. Those will be retired with airport revenue and the project is designed to be self-supporting.

Revenue will include parking fees, leases to the rental car companies and a $2.50 service charge on each customer rental-car contract, Christopher said.

Parking fees have not yet been determined. They will differ by parking area.

Parking in the garage will cost the most because it’s covered and close to the terminal, Christopher said.

Visitors will pay less to park outside the garage or at the Park & Ride lot, which will remain economical, he said.

Current parking fees, according to the airport’s website range from $6 a day at the Park & Ride lot to $50 a day for the lot closest to the terminal.

“The important thing that we want to convey to the public is it’s important for us to provide a range of parking services,” Christopher said. “It’s kind of like a restaurant. We want to be able to offer you anything from a steak to a hamburger.”

Level by level

Construction of the garage began in June 2013.

The biggest challenge has been the weather, said Fabio Serrato, a project manager for Carl Walker, the prime consultant on the project. Serrato is the project’s resident structural engineer.

Last winter had extended periods of cold weather, he said.

All the concrete in the garage was cast on-site and not pre-manufactured like many other parking garages, Fabio said.

The technical term for the way it is being built is “post-tension, cast-in-place,” he said.

It makes the garage more expensive to construct, but because there are fewer joints than with pre-made concrete components, it’s also makes it more durable and easier to maintain, Fabio said.

That saves money in the long run, he said.

Crews are now finishing the third level of the garage and have started on the fourth.

Lighting, signage, electrical wiring, waterproofing and other work remains to be completed.

“There’s a lot,” Christopher said.

This story was originally published September 5, 2014 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Wichita Mid-Continent Airport parking garage work progressing."