Vancouver airport parkade might never be finished, construction halted 6 years ago

Six years after construction was suddenly stopped on a new parkade at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR), it is now unclear if the structure will ever be built.

The parkade was part of a $9 billion expansion plan announced in 2018, but construction was halted in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was to have more than 2,000 stalls.

Now the current CEO of the airport, who was not involved with the original plans, says the parkade will probably never see a vehicle and might even be torn down.

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YVR halts work on major expansion project

YVR president and CEO Tamara Vrooman says transportation like the SkyTrain and ride-hailing have changed the way people get to the airport.

“We see fewer and fewer people travelling to YVR by car, and so that parkade in its current location and current size probably isn’t the highest and best use for that land going forward, so we’re taking a look at what we can do to make sure that our passengers and our staff have access to the terminal that they need,” she told Global News.

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In a statement, YVR said that ride share services now account for 24 per cent of all passenger trips to and from the airport and 65 per cent of passengers now arrive or depart by a mode of transportation other than a private car.

Vrooman said that if the parkade is demolished, the airport will recycle as much of the concrete as possible for other infrastructure projects.

“YVR has a responsibility to carefully steward capital investments and to make decisions based on current data and long‑term needs,” a statement from the airport read.

“Approximately $200 million has been spent to date. Continuing construction of a standalone parking structure would require a significant additional investment, which is no longer justified.

“Based on those realities, we are undertaking a thorough review of how to best utilize the location and the structure as currently built for other purposes to best serve passengers and airport operations over the long term.”

A spokesperson for the airport said it would cost about $200 million more to finish the parkade.

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