JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Just over a month after a devastating fire in the hourly parking garage at Jacksonville International Airport, leaders with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority estimated Wednesday that it will cost at least $38 million to repair the damage.
But it could be more.
“We have not had the engineers go in and specifically determine how much will be demolished and what needs to be replaced,” said Michael Stewart, JAA vice president of external affairs. “We figured that is a good number to start with.”
JAA and its insurance company are expected to cover the costs for the repairs, which the agency said could take at least a year and a half to complete.
MORE: Full coverage of JAX garage fire and aftermath
The third floor, where the fire started on May 16, and the fourth floor of the southern portion of the garage were the most damaged, with part of the area collapsing.
“The structural engineers will have to get in there and see a little bit better as to the damage, and we have to stabilize that before that happens,” Stewart said.
JAA said the fire eliminated more than 500 public parking spaces and 90 rental car spaces, and caused more than $3 million in losses for parking fees and car rentals.
About 1,200 cars were parked in the garage at the time the fire started.
Nearly 50 cars were damaged, and hundreds of them had to be left there initially until drivers were contacted and told they could safely retrieve their vehicles.
Stewart said the drivers’ insurance companies are going to have to pay for damages to their cars.
Tracey Casteel’s SUV was parked on the fourth floor. She lost it in the fire and saw it for the first time in person last weekend.
Since the fire, Casteel has been driving a rental car that she has had to pay for on her own.
“It is an expense, even if they reimburse me,” Casteel said. “It is already $1,700 for the first 20 days of a rental car that is on my credit card right now, while I am trying to buy a house. It is just a lot of things.“
At last check on Wednesday, only three cars remain on the third floor of the damaged portion of the parking garage.
They will be removed to a secure area and investigated by ATF agents and JAA’s insurance company as they work to determine the cause of the fire.
The northern portion of the garage has reopened for drivers to use.