Denver City Council has approved Denver International Airport’s proposed plan for the Great Hall Completion, the final phase of the Great Hall Project.
Having won approval for its Great Hall Completion plan, Denver International Airport (DEN) can move forward with the design work, which will involve existing participants in the project.
The Great Hall Complete Phase will include improved safety for passengers, with an additional new security checkpoint, featuring enhanced technology, on the northeast side of Level 6. With the completion of this second checkpoint, both checkpoints on Level 5 will be relocated to Level 6. This will enable DEN to add more screening lanes, increasing capacity by more than 60%.
New check-in areas will be built on the south end of Level 6 for all remaining airlines, not just United, Southwest and Frontier. According to DEN, these modular spaces will provide greater flexibility for airline expansion and other changing needs in the future.
The project will also involve an upgrade to airport facilities, with renovated bathrooms and new flooring, lighting, heating, cooling and fire protection systems and elevators/escalators. These improvements will save DEN approximately $200-250m in maintenance costs over 10 years.
Meet and greet spaces in both domestic and international arrivals on Level 5 will be refurbished.
Also as part of this phase of the project, DEN’s Center of Excellence and Equity in Aviation will be constructed on Level 4 of the Westin Denver International Airport. According to DEN, the Center will engage, educate, empower, motivate, and provide opportunities for students who are under-represented and young people who are interested in and passionate about careers in aviation. It will help build a future skilled workforce and become a focal point for aviation knowledge and best practices.
These improvements to the Jeppesen Terminal will create 6,500 direct jobs, 500 indirect jobs, 1,300 induced jobs and an estimated 54,000 additional apprenticeship hours.
The approved budget for the Great Hall Completion is $1.3bn and will be funded through airport revenues. DEN plans to begin construction late this year on enabling work and expects completion between spring 2027 and summer 2028, with sections opening along the way.
Phase 2 of the Great Hall Project is currently under construction and due to be complete by mid-2024 with the new checkpoint in the northwest area of Level 6 finished in the first quarter of 2024. Hensel Phelps is the contractor for Phases 1 and 2 and will be the contractor for the Great Hall Completion. The first two phases will be constructed within the $770m budget that was established at the start of the current Great Hall construction work.
