One year after a May 16, 2025, blaze ripped through the southern end of Jacksonville International Airport’s hourly parking garage, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority is finally getting ready to tear out the burned section. The authority has formally solicited bids to demolish the damaged portion, kicking off phase one of what staff estimate will be a roughly $38 million rebuild that could take about a year to finish. As of May 20, the authority had already received about 40 bids from demolition firms.
Demolition bidding and timeline
The solicitation, Contract No. C-899, calls for selective demolition of the fire-damaged areas on Levels 2 through 4 and requires contractors to submit bids electronically through DemandStar by 2 p.m. local time on June 16, 2026. A pre-bid conference and immediate site visit were set for May 26 in the JAA training room, and the notice lays out bid security and bonding requirements for anyone hoping to win the job. According to Jax Daily Record, the work also covers barricading and restricting designated areas on Levels 2 through 4 so demolition can proceed safely.
Cause, damage and vehicle recovery
Investigators pointed to a BMW X3 as the vehicle that ignited the blaze, and the car was later lifted from the wreckage for forensic review. Hundreds of vehicles were in the garage when the fire began and dozens were damaged, but officials say no injuries resulted from the incident. News4Jax reported on the vehicle’s removal and the ongoing investigation.
Cost, capacity and bids so far
JAA Chief Financial Officer Ross Jones has estimated reconstruction at about $38 million and said the fire took roughly 500 public parking spaces out of circulation, leading to an estimated $3.7 million in lost revenue. The authority says the work will be carried out in phases, with demolition as phase one, and it expects the overall project to take roughly a year to complete. Those figures, along with the early bid count, are reported by the Jax Daily Record.
What travelers should expect
To ease parking shortages, a separate daily garage now under construction is set to add about 2,000 spaces and is slated to open later this year, according to local TV reports. JAA has said the rebuilt hourly deck would not include a sprinkler system unless state codes change, a stance that has raised some eyebrows among passengers who watched the first fire unfold. Action News Jax reported on the new garage’s timetable and the authority’s comments.
