BURBANK, Calif., July 8 (Burbank News Online) — Hollywood Burbank Airport is replacing its current terminal setup with one larger terminal, a change airport officials say is meant to improve the travel experience without changing the airport’s basic flight schedule.
The project, called Elevate BUR by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, carries a price tag of $1.3 billion. It is designed to replace the airport’s two smaller terminal buildings with a single new terminal while keeping 14 gates, the same number used now.
What is being built?
Project materials and airport updates describe a new terminal that will include a larger ticketing lobby, a new Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, a new baggage claim area, shops and restaurants, and a new parking structure. Most descriptions put the building at about 355,000 square feet, though one report lists it at 335,000 square feet.
The airport has said the project will keep the same number of gates even as the building changes shape and layout. After the new terminal opens, the current terminal buildings are expected to be torn down.
How will it affect travelers?
Airport officials say the airport’s operating hours and number of flights are not expected to change when the new terminal opens. The main difference for travelers should be how they enter, park, check in, and go through security.
One project update says the new entrance will be at Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way, near the Metrolink Burbank Airport North stop on the Antelope Valley Line. A separate project update says the new parking garage will hold 2,007 spaces, including 400 valet spaces, and that total airport parking will remain 6,637 spaces.
For drivers, that means the airport is trying to replace its old terminal and parking setup without cutting parking capacity. For passengers, the goal is to move check-in, screening, and baggage pickup into one larger building.
How far along is construction?
Construction began in January 2024. One project update says work on the terminal building itself started in May 2024.
The airport has described the work as a design-build project, a setup in which one team handles both design and construction. Project reports identify Jacobs as the project manager and a Holder, Pankow, and TEC joint venture as the design-build team, with Corgan and CannonDesign listed on the design side.
Progress updates show the project moving through major milestones. One report said the terminal was about 32% complete in March 2025. Another said steel framing was finished and the project was about 55% complete in September 2025. A topping-out milestone was reported in January 2025.
When will it open?
Several project updates say the new terminal is scheduled to open in October 2026. One updated timeline gives a specific opening date of Oct. 13, 2026.
That date matters because the airport treats construction progress and opening as different stages. Even after the building is structurally finished, testing, interior work, and final systems checks still have to happen before passengers can use it.
Why does this project matter?
Hollywood Burbank Airport is a major regional airport for the San Fernando Valley and the wider Los Angeles area. The replacement terminal is one of the biggest transportation projects in Burbank, and it could change how people move through the airport even if the number of gates stays the same.
For travelers, the big questions are simple: where to park, where to enter, how long security will take, and how the new building will handle check-in and baggage claim. The airport authority says those changes are the point of the project.
The old terminals will stay in service until the new building is ready. After that, the airport plans to shift operations into the new terminal and remove the older buildings.
