Sacramento County Department of Airports Releases RFQ for New Rental Car Facility

The Sacramento County Department of Airports (SCDA), which operates Sacramento International Airport (SMF), today announced the release of a request for qualifications (RFQ) to identify a private developer to partner with the County and its stakeholders to deliver a new, state-of-the-art consolidated rental-car facility (ConRAC).  

The project will include construction of a multi-level facility south of the existing parking garage in the terminal area. Design and construction of the ConRAC is preliminarily estimated at $390 million and represents the final project in SCDA’s SMForward Capital Investment Program, a $1.3 Billion expansion and modernization program that is reshaping the Airport to accommodate projected passenger growth.  

The facility is expected to be funded with ConRAC revenues, primarily customer facility charge (CFC) revenues collected by rental car companies from people renting cars, and debt to be secured by CFCs. Private equity may also play a role in funding the ConRAC. 

Once constructed, the new ConRAC will enable the relocation of all rental car facilities to a single building located directly south of the existing parking garage. The ConRAC’s location is strategically placed to be easily walkable from both Terminal A and Terminal B, eliminating the need for shuttle buses. The location will also reduce roadway congestion, make renting and returning cars easier for customers and improve operations for rental car companies. 

“Travelers continue to discover that SMF is an easy-to-navigate gateway to explore all that makes Northern California and its surrounding areas so special,” said Cindy Nichol, Sacramento County’s Director of Airports. “Being able to deliver a world-class rental car experience is critical to ensuring we hit the mark on that experience.  Delivering this project through an innovative public-private partnership demonstrates the commitment we have to leveraging private sector expertise and funding to enhance efficiency and outcomes.” 

With the release of the RFQ, SCDA has begun a two-step competitive solicitation process to identify a potential development partner. Following receipt of qualifications from potential firms, SCDA expects to shortlist a select number of firms to respond to a request for proposals (RFP) and will then award the project on the basis of the proposals it receives from shortlisted proposers.  

As part of the solicitation process, SCDA will hold a virtual industry presentation on January 7, 2025, at which interested firms will be able to learn more about the project and the procurement process.  

Interested parties can sign up for the industry presentation and read the complete RFQ at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/saccounty. 

Additional information and business opportunities within SMForward can be found at www.SMForward.com.