JAA moving closer to new concourse for Jacksonville International Airport

Jacksonville, FL — It’s been talked about for years, but a new Concourse B for the Jacksonville International Airport is now moving closer to reality.

The Jacksonville Aviation Authority has selected the team to perform the design services for this project. While the concept has been in the works for some time, this selection marks the start of moving from the broad concept to the details. The partnership Jacobs/RS&H were chosen as the most qualified, among six bids that were submitted.

JAA says JAX has seen 18 consecutive months of year-over-year growth, and this project is designed to accommodate that through the addition of six gates. The bid submitted by Jacobs/RS&H says they want to position the concourse to allow for expansion to 13 gates in the future, should the need warrant. Concourse B will feature new concession options as well, and the hope would be to showcase some local businesses as part of that.

These renderings include the top line concepts, and JAA Director of Planning and Development Robert Molle says now the detail work begins.

“Exactly how it’s going to look- what I call the architectural features of it and some of the specific construction features of it- are yet to be determined,” Molle says.

The bid from Jacobs/RS&H has some ideas for improvements even beyond what JAA is expecting. It mentions the incorporation of new technology during screening and boarding, and high-top computer stations and a move away from linear seating at gates and concessions. There is also the option of a 3rd floor lounge and new Club Lounge.

Molle says, until all of those details are hammered out, they won’t know the exact project cost. This time next year he expects that will be more clear, and that will be when they truly dive in to the financing as well.

He says they’ll seek state and federal grants to support the project, but he expects a large share to be covered by existing passenger facility charges, which are used for capital projects. Molle says, as of now, he doesn’t expect you to see any additional fee for this project, and they also don’t believe there will be any major inconvenience on you for your trip through JAX.

“This Concourse B concept is going to allow us to pretty much build the new concourse without any appreciable significant impact on existing operations,” Molle says.

The current goal is to have Concourse B open by late 2022, although Jacobs/RS&H says they hope to have it done before the 2022 holiday travel season.