Port of Seattle to Restart Construction on Sea-Tac Airport Consolidated Rental Car Facility

Commission vote means more than 100 people back on the job as soon as late July

Citing recent signs of hope in the global economy, Port of Seattle Commission voted today to restart construction on the new rental car facility to serve Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Today’s vote follows on the recent sale of revenue bonds to finance the facility, scheduled to open in 2012. Construction on the $419 million, 23-acre site will generate up to 1,000 new jobs in 2009. When the facility opens in 2012, construction activities will have created over 3,000 local, family-wage jobs and generated nearly $2 million in tax revenues for the City of SeaTac.

Commissioner Gael Tarleton noted the many trades that are represented by those building the facility. “Restarting construction on the rental car facility is our local economic stimulus package,” she noted. “The thousands of family-wage jobs that this project creates represent the livelihoods of families all across the region.”

“Today’s commission vote is good news for King County and the whole region,” said Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani. “Nearly 200 workers will be back to work by August, and a facility that will generate millions in local business revenues is back on track.”

Construction on the project was suspended in December because of the meltdown in global credit markets. Commissioners voted to put the project on hold until markets recovered and bonds could be sold to finance the facility. Last week, the Port announced the successful sale of $317 million in revenue bonds.

“The City of SeaTac is very excited that the Port is now able to resume construction of the rental car facility," said SeaTac Mayor Ralph Shape. "We will derive important tax revenue from both the construction of this project and the ongoing operations once the facility has opened. The facility will also generate new jobs for our residents.”

The five-story structure will meet the increasing rental car customer demand and accommodate up to 45 million passengers per year. Once completed, the RCF will accommodate approximately ten full-service rental car companies, house 5,400 vehicles and open additional parking at the main terminal garage. The project includes a bus maintenance facility, off-site road improvements, and main terminal improvements. Consolidating operations and bus service for rental car services supports the Port of Seattle’s commitment to sustainable business practices. Once completed, the port will apply for LEED certification for the rental car facility.

Jack Beaudoin, VP and General of Turner Construction said, "We are delighted to see the Rental Car Facility come back to life and to get our crews back on the site to finish this much-needed regional project. We have believed all along in the viability of this project and the fact that it was 'shovel ready' allows our subcontractors to get back to work very quickly, providing an important boost to our regional economy and the families of the thousands of workers this project will touch. We're ready to go back to work."

For more information about this project, and about how the Port of Seattle is the Green Gateway for cargo and passengers destined for Washington and destinations across the globe, visit www.portseattle.org.

About Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Operated by the Port of Seattle, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA, KSEA) is ranked as the 18th largest U.S. airport, serving more than 32.1 million passengers in 2008. With a regional economic impact of more than $13.2 billion in business revenue, Sea-Tac generates more than 161,000 jobs (89,902 direct jobs) representing more than $2.2 billion in direct earnings and $412.4 million in state and local taxes. Twenty-eight airlines serve 76 non-stop domestic destinations and 22 international cities.