Over the next five years, you’ll see some new designs take shape at the Portland International Airport — and they’re all inspired by the places we call home.
Behind this $2 billion investment is a mission to make PDX even more, well, PDX. That means creating healthy spaces optimized for sustainability, earthquake resilience and your wellbeing. Along the way, we’re opening up more opportunities for local businesses and communities throughout our region.
What’s it going to look like? We may not have a time machine, but we do have a vision for the future of travel at PDX. Scroll on to get a sneak peek.
Here’s how the action will unfold over the next few years
Now
PNW-inspired designs revealed
Pssst … want to see something cool? Local architects have unveiled new designs for the airport’s main terminal. It’s spacious, flexible and green, with plenty of Pacific Northwest character.
Get the scoop
Builders tackle some big challenges
Hard hats on and sleeves rolled: In early April, we closed the Clocktower Plaza for good so that our crew of 1,250 pros can get to work on bringing the PDX Next vision to live.
Learn more
Say hello to a brand-new Concourse B
B gets bigger and brighter, with brunch star Screen Door and specialty roaster Good Coffee adding more Oregon flavor to the new daylight-filled digs.
Flexible transit hub, beep beep!
You’ll get in and out of PDX faster when we open a new basecamp for car rentals and parking, complete with more close-in spots and flexibility for future modes of transit.
Rideshare center eases congestion
Rideshare riders, rejoice: You’ll find your driver painlessly in the new dedicated pickup center for services like Lyft and Uber. This helps reduce congestion for everyone else, too.
PDX employee shuttles pick up speed
If you work at PDX, your commute gets easier as employee shuttles to and from the airport get even speedier.
The main terminal is complete
Walk into the spacious and green new main terminal, where you’ll find it easy to get to your gate thanks to expanded security checkpoints, an intuitive layout, and more local places to eat and shop.
In the works for more than four years, the freshly expanded Concourse E opened in July 2020, with sweeping glass walls framing views of Mt. Hood and the Columbia River. This bright new home for Southwest Airlines is flexible and spacious, making way for clusters of new restaurants and shops as well as imaginative work by contemporary artist Jacob Hashimoto soaring overhead. It’s all thanks to the creativity and hustle of the 2,000 builders, makers and architects who brought the vision to life.
The flexible interior spaces were designed with the future of travel in mind — and to give you plenty of comfortable spots to recharge before your next flight.
Two permanent installations from acclaimed contemporary artist Jacob Hashimoto hang like clouds above the concourse’s common areas.
Shops and restaurants are clustered together like city blocks, with a pedestrian-friendly scale and lots of room to spread out.
Sky-high windows fill the interior with daylight while maximizing the concourse extension’s energy efficiency.
At the east end of the concourse, a wall of windows opens up this epic view of Mt. Hood, where you’ll definitely want to pose for a photo before takeoff.
Artist Jacob Hashimoto’s canopy of kite-like discs reflects the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest, with locally inspired graphics incorporated throughout.
The Concourse E extension project is the dedicated home for Southwest Airlines at PDX, with six new gates.
The next time you drive to PDX, you’ll see the completed Concourse E extension stretching out along Airport Way.
Tillamook’s menu includes the best of the classics with fried cheese curds and a signature grilled cheese.
Calliope takes its name from one of Oregon’s native hummingbirds and showcases creative and playful keepsakes.
Grab your favorite book, magazine or newspaper at Your Northwest Travel Mart.
Summer 2020
Hennebery Eddy and Fentress
Skanska
6 new gates for Southwest Airlines
7 new shops and restaurants
1 - a landmark lounge named Juliett
The completely redeveloped and expanded Concourse B opens up more possibilities for travelers in 2021, including six new gates for Alaska Airlines. To make room, we’re saying goodbye to the dim, crowded Concourse A — demolishing this aging wing of the airport in favor of a concourse made for 21st-century aviation. Architects have embraced the romance of flying with floor-to-ceiling windows, where kids can watch as planes taxi to the runway and climb skyward. Everything in the interior space is about putting you in a good mood, from leafy foliage to common areas where you can de-stress. It’s all based on research that proves what Oregonians already know: Access to nature makes us happier and healthier.
Screen Door opens at PDX in Summer 2021.
Good Coffee opens at PDX in Summer 2021.
Arriving soon: More of your favorite culinary hot spots.
You deserve more local flavor, and you’re getting it when two heavyweights of Portland’s food scene open up shop. Come 2021, you can dip into the latest cafe from acclaimed specialty roaster Good Coffee, bringing minimalism, cute houseplants and a light espresso kick to the new concourse. And B stands for brunch with the arrival of Screen Door, which is just as famous for its fried chicken and waffles as its hour-plus wait for a table. We’re pretty confident you won’t have to wait as long at PDX.
November 2021
ZGF Architects
Hoffman Skanska
ASAP, so we’re on it
6 new gates for Alaska Airlines
2 new culinary hot spots
We’re rolling out a series of improvements over the next few years so that your commute is even easier and speedier. Do you zip on the MAX or cycle to PDX? We’re making space for light-rail and bike-path enhancements. Hailing a ride on your phone? A dedicated pickup area arriving in 2023 will streamline the entire experience. Wonder why we’ve moved the exit toll plaza? Because we’re building a flexible transit hub with 2,225 close-in parking spots, and we’re bringing car rentals on-site in 2021. That’s right, this modern basecamp for ground transportation means you’ll be on the road in no time.
2021
YGH Architects
JE Dunn
2,225, including 30 Americans with Disabilities Act spots
0, as all rentals come on-site in 2021
Enough to earn an order of Screen Door’s fried chicken
When future-you steps into the airport, you might feel like PDX has gotten a little PDX-ier — and that’s by design. The local architects behind the new main terminal are drawing inspiration from the lush landscapes of our region. Fast forward to the grand opening in 2025 and you’ll see the footprint of the airport’s core — aka the ticketing and lobby areas — nearly double in size. This gives us space to bring more Pacific Northwest character to the heart of PDX, even as we make it far more energy-efficient. The concept will feel sort of like walking through a park, with an iconic wooden roof spanning a bright space full of leafy foliage and real-life trees. We’re keeping things open and flexible, too, so we meet the needs of our region for decades to come.
Every design decision we make is about keeping the heart and soul of PDX intact. You’ll see homages to all the things you love about our city and region in the new airport designs.
The new terminal’s wooden roof (as seen in this close-up rendering, right) might remind you of daylight filtering through forest canopies.
You’ll notice subtle nods to Pacific Northwest elements throughout the new space. The ripples and currents of our pristine rivers, for example, are inspiring the undulating flow of the wooden roof, as depicted in this architectural model (right).
We’re filling the new main terminal with a lot of Portland love — both in terms of regionally sourced materials and, well, doughnuts. (C’mon, what would PDX be without doughnuts?)
You’ll see a scene something like this when you enter the more spacious ticket lobby at PDX. This early architectural rendering previews the vision for the iconic wooden roof — inspired by Pacific Northwest nature, craft and our partly sunny skies.
Natural light, living trees and native Oregon foliage might give you the feeling of walking through a park, as this early architectural rendering shows.
Expanding the heart of the airport creates more spaces for the local shops and restaurants you love. Architects are thoughtfully planning these public spaces to resemble the human-friendly scale of your favorite Portland neighborhoods.
The flexible interior spaces were designed with the future of travel in mind — and to give you plenty of comfortable spots to recharge before your next flight.
Two permanent installations from acclaimed contemporary artist Jacob Hashimoto hang like clouds above the concourse’s common areas.
Shops and restaurants are clustered together like city blocks, with a pedestrian-friendly scale and lots of room to spread out.
Artist Jacob Hashimoto’s canopy of kite-like discs reflects the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest, with locally inspired graphics incorporated throughout.
Sky-high windows fill the interior with daylight while maximizing the concourse extension’s energy efficiency.
At the east end of the concourse, a wall of windows opens up this epic view of Mt. Hood, where you’ll definitely want to pose for a photo before takeoff.
The Concourse E extension project is the dedicated home for Southwest Airlines at PDX, with six new gates.
Remember the view of Mt. Hood on Concourse E? It’s coming back, brighter than ever.
Tillamook’s menu includes the best of the classics with fried cheese curds and a signature grilled cheese.
Calliope takes its name from one of Oregon’s native hummingbirds and showcases creative and playful keepsakes.
Grab your favorite book, magazine or newspaper at Your Northwest Travel Mart.
Remember the feeling of walking through an Oregon forest for the first time?
That feeling inspired the design of the new Concourse B.
An early movement flow study for the new Concourse B.
The new Concourse B has great exposure to southern light.
Interior rendering for the new Concourse B.
The new Concourse B has Pacific Northwest touches like warm wood panels and indoor greenery.
Exterior rendering of the new Concourse B.
The six new ground loading gates for Alaska Airlines are bigger and brighter.
Our new rental car center opens in 2021.
Movable plants and furniture make the space flexible.
When the new rental car center opens in 2021, you won’t need a shuttle to pick up your car.
Interior acoustical materials help reduce noise.
The new facility also provides more long-term parking, new office spaces, and a new and relocated parking toll plaza building.
A new exit plaza opened in November 2019.
Every design decision we make is about keeping the heart and soul of PDX intact. You’ll see homages to all the things you love about our city and region in the new airport designs.
The new terminal’s wooden roof (as seen in this close-up rendering, right) might remind you of daylight filtering through forest canopies.
You’ll notice subtle nods to Pacific Northwest elements throughout the new space. The ripples and currents of our pristine rivers, for example, are inspiring the undulating flow of the wooden roof, as depicted in this architectural model (right).
We’re filling the new main terminal with a lot of Portland love — both in terms of regionally sourced materials and, well, doughnuts. (C’mon, what would PDX be without doughnuts?)
You’ll see a scene something like this when you enter the more spacious ticket lobby at PDX. This early architectural rendering previews the vision for the iconic wooden roof — inspired by Pacific Northwest nature, craft and our partly sunny skies.
Natural light, living trees and native Oregon foliage might give you the feeling of walking through a park, as this early architectural rendering shows.
Expanding the heart of the airport creates more spaces for the local shops and restaurants you love. Architects are thoughtfully planning these public spaces to resemble the human-friendly scale of your favorite Portland neighborhoods.