Lake Houston - Humble - Kingwood Edition | November 2024

Increasing international presence From the cover

160K sq. ft. addition to Terminal D 499K sq. ft. encompassing Terminal D with the expansion

The overview

Terminal D Gates D1-D6

Construction of the Terminal D-West Pier—which spans the length of a seven-story building—began in November 2019 with the demolition of the old Terminal C-North facility, IAH ocials said. Szczesniak said the Terminal D-West Pier includes six new gates built to accommodate wide- body airplanes that can also be converted to accommodate 10 narrow-body airplanes. “We haven’t had new gates here in more than 20 years,” Szczesniak said. “These six new gates really give us the capacity to market to the airlines to come in here [during peak international travel times].” Szczesniak said the facility also features space for 16 restaurants and businesses, noting several of the tenants featured in the new terminal are locally owned, including: • The Kitchen • The Annie Restaurant • Houston Supply Company Additionally, Szczesniak said the D-West Pier features amenities including new seating, a children’s play area, a sensory room and a mother’s room. Szczesniak noted the Terminal D area as a whole now encompasses more than 499,000 square feet, which is about three times the size of the eld at Minute Maid Park. Ocials also noted all four lanes of North Terminal Road will open ahead of Thanksgiving, which they said should provide passengers arriving at Terminals C, D and E with less trac during the holidays. “These improvements will reduce congestion and improve the passenger experience,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a statement.

Businesses (now open): 1 The Annie Restaurant 2 Jamba Juice 3 Jetero News & Coee 4 The Lego Store 5 Semi Sweet Confections 6 Einstein Bagels & Coee 7 The Kitchen 8 Houston Supply Company 9 Sunglass Icon Businesses (coming soon): 10 Urban Crave Bar & Grill 11 Velvet Taco

10K sq. ft. architectural ceiling

380 ft. long LED wall covering 11K sq. ft. of wall space

12 Popeye’s Chicken 13 Hip and Humble Amenities: 14 Mother’s room 15 Sensory room 16 Children’s play area 17 Relaxation area

8 new art commissions by Houston-based artists

16 spaces for restaurants and businesses

17 13

SOURCE: HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEMCOMMUNITY IMPACT

The impact

piece, and that gets poured back into the economy,” Szczesniak said. Szczesniak said he believes the newly completed Terminal D expansion and other improvements to the airport help make the Houston area an attrac- tive option for international events. In February, FIFA ocials announced Houston was selected to host seven matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup at NRG Stadium. “This infrastructure gives us the ability to con- tinue to push the levels so that we can get to over 200 nonstop destinations,” Szczesniak said.

of that revenue is created as a result of travelers spending money at local businesses and restau- rants. High noted the additional ights out of the new terminal should result in even more spending by travelers. “Some of those wide body planes carry 260 pas- sengers, [with six planes arriving] multiple times a day,” High said. “It starts to add up.” Additionally, Szczesniak said the Terminal D expansion resulted in the creation of around 250 new jobs at the airport. “Those [new workers] are all generating their

According to a Greater Houston Partnership economic report conducted before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel through IAH, William P. Hobby Airport and Ellington Airport contributed roughly $36.4 billion to the Houston-area economy in 2019. While Szczesniak said the 2019 report was the most recent economic analysis available, he said a new economic report would be made available by the end of 2024. Gary High, chief development ocer of Houston Airport System’s infrastructure division, said much

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