04/24/2013 - Officials break ground on ABIA rental car facility (News)

AUSTIN -- A new rental car facility at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will soon free up about 900 parking places in the garage right next to the terminal.

City and airport officials, along with representatives of several rental car companies, held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning at ABIA’s Parking Lot A.

Currently passengers pick up and drop off rental cars on the third floor of the parking garage. The rental car companies must then drive the cars to a service facility to have them cleaned before returning them to the parking garage,which involves a two-mile round trip.

The new facility will not only streamline rental car operations, but will also free up those spaces at the parking garage.

Mark Pfeffer, president of Pfeffer Development, said he was "Really excited. I mean, you know, after three years of working on it, it's really nice to be here at this point."

Pfeffer's company was the developer for the new facility.

Jackie Agan, director of properties for Hertz Rent-A-Car, said the various rental car companies at ABIA came together to work on the project.

"It's nice to see the end result. Not all the meetings were fun, but we got a great project, and it was all well worth it, and we're looking forward to opening. I mean, these next few years can't come quick enough," said Agan.

The new rental car facility is expected to open in the fall of 2015.

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