By this time next year, travelers might be required to pay to park in the long-term lots at Vero Beach Regional Airport.

Discussions, which began in June, are ongoing between airport management and a new locally connected partnership that has proposed an initial investment of more than $2.3 million to install a pay-to-park system at the city-owned facility.

“This is all very preliminary,” Airport Director Todd Scher said last week, “but we feel pretty good about this partnership, and we’re continuing to talk about potential lease terms and concession fees to address our parking challenges and contribute to our revenue stream.”

Currently, parking at the airport is free.

But the demand for on-site parking has grown as Breeze Airways, which added Vero Beach to route map in February 2023, has steadily expanded its nonstop commercial service to seven destinations.

More parking will likely be needed next month when JetBlue launches daily direct service to and from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and again in February when American Eagle will offer daily flights between Vero Beach and Charlotte, North Carolina.

The proposal was submitted by Envision Parking Partners – created specifically for this project by Vero Beach’s Steve Kovaleski and John Mostoller – and Gainesville-based SafeParc, which boasts a resume that includes airports, universities, hospitals and cities.

In fact, SafeParc CEO Dilshan Singh joined the Envision partners when they made their formal presentation to the city’s Airport Commission last month.

According to their joint proposal, the partnership would provide the infrastructure, technology, maintenance and customer service needed to modernize the airport’s long-term parking facilities.

Kovaleski said the planned improvements would include construction of paved lots, lighting upgrades, signage to enhance traffic flow, and user-friendly software provided by SafeParc.

Singh said his company employees 200 workers and operates a 24-hour call center to offer assistance to customers, who may pay to park using their mobile phones – by scanning a QR code, texting or calling.

The company also utilizes license plate recognition technology, Singh said, relying on cameras to monitor who is using the lots, as well as to provide an additional level of safety and security.

In return, Kovaleski said the partnership is seeking a long-term lease that would provide the airport with rent payments and a percentage of the concessions from parking fees.

Scher said any lease likely would be for a term of 30 years with at least one 10-year option – much like those offered to other fixed-base operators at the airport.

The City Council, which would need to approve any such contract, asked Scher to give a presentation regarding the proposal at this past Tuesday’s (Nov. 4) meeting.

“This proposal represents more than a lease,” Singh said. “It is us coming in and providing a full, modernized, turn-key parking solution.”

Kovaleski and Singh said the cost of parking in the long-term lots – at least initially – will be as much as 40 percent less expensive than the rates offered at airports in Orlando, Melbourne and Sanford.

The start-up rate here could be as low as $10 per day, they said, adding that they hope the lower cost will soften the blow of being required to pay to park. The rates are expected to increase over time.

Both partners said there was no immediate demand for a multi-level parking structure, but they would be willing to consider such a project if the circumstances change in the future.

If the parties agree on lease terms, the project gets the council’s approval and the partnership can get the necessary permitting from the county, work on the additional lots could begin next summer.

“That’s a possibility, but not a probability,” Scher said, adding that he expects work on the project, if the lease is granted, to continue into early 2027.

Still, he said the proposal is attractive and he’s optimistic a lease can be negotiated.

“If you’ve been on social media or have been reading the news, there’s a demand for something to be done quickly,” Scher said, acknowledging that the airport – with the arrivals of JetBlue and American – has generated plenty of headlines in recent months. “This is one way to get it done.”

Scher said leasing to an outside vendor not only would expedite any parking projects, but it would also ease the burden on his staff, which, despite the arrival of commercial airlines, hasn’t expanded over the past five years.

In the meantime, Scher and his staff have responded to complaints about the airport’s short-term lot too often being at capacity, which impacts customers of C.J. Cannon’s restaurant, located inside the terminal.

The airport has converted 54-space Lot A, which previously was used for long-term parking, into an employees-only lot that may be used only by vehicles displaying a permit.