Airport Experience® News - Conference Issue 2026

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direct and intuitive access to baggage claim. “The best part is shortening the walkways” Granato says. “From the passenger experience it’s significantly better.” The need for change emerged from the airport’s 2011 master plan which anticipated dramatic passenger growth. PDX served around 20 million passengers at the time. Future traffic projections stretch to 35 million, a goal set to be reached by 2045. The terminal now includes 400,000 additional square feet. This is a 30% increase in space for passenger processing, concessions and seating. But the benefits go beyond size. “This new building is a big open span” Granato explains. “Almost everything that we have there we could move it if we have to. If in the future the airlines changed how they want to operate, we could move things without impacting the overall design and flow of the building.” Despite pandemic-era cost increases, the project remains within its revised $2.15 billion budget. “We will absolutely be able to deliver on time and under budget” says Granato. Phase 2 work will wrap in early 2026. New passenger flows and full amenities will come online in April.

Granato credits the project’s momentum to close coordination with partners. “We worked really closely with TSA and the airlines to phase this in a way that didn’t disrupt daily operations” he says. “Even during Covid we found ways to keep moving without losing our timeline.” “Travelers expect more from airports now” Granato says. “They want it to feel good, to be easy to navigate, and to give them a sense of where they are.” Portland At The Fore From food and retail to finish materials, the terminal puts Portland front and center. PDX has long championed an all-local concessions program. Granato believes that strategy pays off. “Eighty percent of people who travel through here are from here. They know us,” he says. PDX has a street pricing policy. This means travelers pay the same for food and retail as they would in the city. “When people know and trust the brands and know they’ll pay a reasonable price, we think that drives more revenue,” Granato notes. The concessions program followed a multi-stage RFP process designed to level

the playing field for small businesses. “We didn’t just want familiar names,” he says. “We wanted vendors who represented Portland’s values.” The program’s success has drawn attention from airports across the country looking to replicate the balance between local identity and commercial performance. That hyper-local philosophy extends to design. “The concessions are inspired by the City of Portland and its unique regional shops, restaurants and artisans” says Sharron van der Meulen, managing partner at ZGF Architects , PDX’s main architectural partner. “The design of the concession pavilions takes inspiration from some of Portland’s beloved commercial streets like Northwest 23rd, making it feel less like an airport and more like a neighborhood.” The concessions and ceiling panels are constructed with locally sourced wood from within 300 miles of the airport. That includes 100,000 tiles of Oregon white oak grown, harvested and milled in the Willamette Valley. The ceiling lattice can be traced to 11 family-owned nonprofit and Tribal forests that all practice ecological forestry or are FSC certified.

Left: Stadium seating options, generous greenery and extensive use of locally sourced wood are among the unique characteristics of the new terminal at PDX Photo Credit: Sally Painter, Courtesy of Mayer/Reed

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AX NEWS MARCH 2026