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SALT LAKE CITY — Chandler McClellan stands on a massive concrete floor as he points to a series of empty rooms during a tour of ongoing Salt Lake City International Airport construction Tuesday morning.
While all of the rooms are currently just drywall and pipes, McClellan, a construction manager for contractor Austin Okland Joint Venture, explains that this section of the growing Concourse B structure will eventually house a dozen more concession stands when it opens in late 2024.
"They're going to be the ones occupying these (spaces) — food and beverage or retail," he says.
Moments later, Salt Lake City International Airport officials announced six more restaurants and another six retail stores that will open as a part of the third phase of construction at the airport.
Restaurants
- Bambuza Vietnam Kitchen
- Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers
- Sunday's Best
- The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
- Maggiano's Little Italy
- Thirst
Retail
- Cotopaxi
- iStore Express
- Relay
- The Canyon
- Travel Right
- Weller Book Works
The airport originally received 56 proposals for the 12 concession slots when it began planning for the first of two extensions to Concourse B, known as Phase III of the airport's construction, said Bill Wyatt, executive director of the Salt Lake City International Airport. Both Phase III (Concourse B-East) and Phase IV (Concourse B-East extension) help the concourse match the size of Concourse A and the new Concourse A-East that will be completed this year.
This third phase offers 19,260 square feet of space for these concessions. A committee helped whittle the 56-business field down to a dozen, splitting it between restaurants and retail. This opened the door for some new local businesses to operate from the airport.
"This has really been a few years in the making for us," said Michael McHenry, creator of the Sandy-based brunch restaurant Sunday's Best. "We're excited to be a part of this new airport and expansion."
Wyatt points out that most of the 12 are local brands, building on a theme with many of the airport concessions.
All of the businesses will offer the same prices as any location outside of the airport, which is required for all businesses that operate within the massive complex.
"We want people to know — when they're in the airport — where they are," he said. "They're in Salt Lake City. They're in Utah, and so it's very important to see a broad representation of local interest represented in the concessions, and frankly, represented in the look and feel of the airport, as well. So far we've been able to achieve that."
The third phase includes eight new gates on top of the 12 new businesses, as well as the opening of a new 1,100-foot tunnel that connects Concourse B-East with the main terminal, cutting the distance it takes passengers to reach Concourse B-East. The famous world map that existed on the floor in the old Salt Lake City airport will be installed at the center of the concourse as it expands in size, too.
Delta Air Lines is also slated to open a second Sky Club on a floor above the new gates and stores, Wyatt added. Airport executives are still planning out the fourth phase of the project, which will fill out the rest of Concourse B with 16 more gates and 19 additional concession spaces by 2027.
Paying for future construction
Meanwhile, airport officials are working to finalize the funding to pay for all of this growth even as construction lingers on. The Salt Lake City Council authorized the airport to issue as much as $600 million in new bonds, which will be used to cover the cost to complete Phase III.
Wyatt told KSL.com that the airport is still hoping to only issue about $456 million in bonds; however, the additional $144 million helps cover the range of the bond market. Executives recently presented the plan to a rating agency and will begin bond pricing in mid-July as they seek to pay for the construction.
"We won't do as well with interest rates this time, as we did on the first three, because things have changed, but we expect to do pretty well with it," he said, referring to how interest rates have risen significantly as compared to other bonds issued for previous construction.
He adds that he believes the airport's growth since the new airport opened in 2020 and the region's economic performance will help with bond sales. On top of that, the airport now has construction crews under contract to complete the rest of the project. The contract comes with guaranteed pricing, so there are fewer concerns about volatility in construction pricing over the next four years.
All this growth will help serve a major demand as Utah air travel recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic about a year before anticipated.
"We're definitely back," Wyatt said. "It's been busy because we had a phenomenal winter with the snow and ski season, and I suspect we'll have a busy summer."
