File Photo / Tim Greenway
Airport Director Paul Bradbury at the Portland International Jetport.
October 15, 2021
Portland looks to expand Jetport, restore parking service with $4.5M land purchase
Courtesy / City of Portland
An aerial photo highlights in yellow the land that Portland International Jetport would acquire in a proposed $4.5 million deal. The airport terminal and runways, not shown, are to the south, and from this view would appear below the picture.
By William Hall
Travelers driving to Portland International Jetport may have new parking options if Maine’s largest air transportation hub completes a purchase of five neighboring land parcels for $4.5 million.
The Portland City Council on Monday takes up a proposal to buy the properties, which total 4.53 acres along Westbrook Street and Jetport Boulevard and are owned by Toye Airport Park LLC and Toye Realty Holdings III LLC.
The swath of land includes the former Park' N Jet valet parking facility. Operated by Tom Toye III, Park' N Jet discontinued operations in August 2020 after the pandemic slowed air travel. The lot can accommodate 350 cars.
“Now that passenger volumes are near 2019 levels, this acquisition will allow for the Jetport to immediately return the parking capacity that Park' N Jet provided back to the market,” Airport Director Paul Bradbury wrote last week in a memo to the council.
“This lot is significantly more convenient for passengers than the current discount lot off the district road and can be operated at a lower expense.”
In addition, Bradbury wrote, the purchase of an undeveloped parcel of 1.97 acres will provide room for future terminal, roadway and parking expansion.
The land was specified as a potential purchase in the Jetport's Sustainable Airport Master Plan, approved by the council in 2016, he noted. Money for the purchase would come from the Jetport’s unrestricted fund balance, and so requires council approval.
A capital improvement budget called for acquiring the land between 2023 and 2027. But Toye and his businesses are looking to sell early, according to the memo, and at a bargain price — the five parcels are appraised at $4.75 million.
“This provides the Jetport with a unique opportunity to acquire these parcels now and eliminate the possibility of other alternate development that is inconsistent with the Jetport's Sustainable Airport Master Plan,” Bradbury wrote.
Revenue from resuming parking operations at the site is projected to net $300,000 annually at current passenger levels, according to the memo.
Like most airports, the Jetport saw passenger volume plummet during the early months of the pandemic. In 2020, a total of 793,000 air travelers passed through PWM, down from 2.18 million in 2019. But traffic is turning around. From January through September this year, the Jetport has handled 1.26 million passengers, according to its website.
The city-owned airport currently covers 769 acres, one of the smaller footprints among U.S. facilities with comparable passenger volumes. Bangor International Airport, for example, is over 2,000 acres in size, but serves about one-third the passenger volume going through Portland.
In its virtual meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, the Portland City Council will hold a first reading on the proposal to buy the land. Meeting information can be found here. A potential vote on the proposal would be held Nov. 1.
Tom Toye III reopened the Park’ N Jet valet service in 2014 after initially launching it in 1970. In 1998 he leased the car rental and valet parking facility to Alamo Rent-A-Car in order to pursue other business ventures.
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