The San Jose International Airport

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In 1939, a wholesale grocer named Ernie Renzel bought the Stockton Ranch in San Jose with the intention of building an airport there. It took many years for the city to approve the project, however. The first hangar and runway were built in 1945. They were built not by the city, but by pilot James Nissen, who used it for his own private flight school. After the city approved a municipal airport, Nissen sold back his portion of the land and worked with Renzel to plan and develop what would eventually become the Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC).

The first terminal at SJC was finished in 1965 after decades of planning. But despite being located in the most populous city in the Bay Area, the San Jose Airport is the smallest of the three major airports in the region. It moves less than a third of the passengers as the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Like the Oakland Airport, SJC is mostly used by residents for whom the larger SFO is too far out of the way to be convenient.

But major renovations for the San Jose International Airport are underway. The long-planned expansion of the airport is heading for completion, and it includes a new architectural design, bigger terminals and a renovation of the San Jose airport parking building.

The expansion of SJC was first planned in 2004 and called for the building of a single, large terminal with 40 gates and a VTA light rail as well as a new BART station that would connect to the airport terminal. A new San Jose Airport parking garage and a new short-term parking structure were also planned. The following year, however the expansion plan was edited down. Whereas the 2004 plan required $3 billion, the new plan only called for $1.3 billion in spending. But despite the budget reduction, the airport planners are still planning on major changes. The North Concourse terminal is expected to be finished in 2010. There will be more counters and drop-off/pick-up areas. The designers of the new terminal's sail design were the Gensler and Steinberg Group.

When going to the airport, parking is always important to travelers. Make traveling easier the next time when in need for San Jose airport parking.