New Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport concourse offers local shops, artwork and technology

PHOENIX — A new $310 million concourse opened Monday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and it offers travelers much more than just eight additional gates for Southwest Airlines.

The airport’s eighth concourse at Terminal 4 features an array of art elements with a terrazzo floor that depicts aerial views of the Phoenix landscape and airplane window-shaped wall pieces.

It also gives travelers a chance to try some Arizona favorites right from the airport with an array of local and regional restaurants and shops, such as Pedal Haus Brewery, Eegee’s, Bobby’s Burgers, Changing Hands Bookstore, Made Art Boutique and Melrose Pharmacy.

The shops, restaurants and a lounge will open in the coming months, the airport said.

“Whether it’s the high technology in this concourse or the beautiful views, our traveling public is in for a treat,” Mayor Kate Gallego said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony last week.

The technology Gallego is speaking of is the concourse’s new smart windows, which have electrochromic glazing that adjust tinting to the sun’s position in the sky. Travelers can also see much of the state’s scenery from those windows.

The 275,000-square-foot expansion of Terminal 4 took 50 million pounds of concrete, 2 million pounds of rebar and a half-mile of baggage conveyor systems.

Other amenities of the expansion are charging stations in every seat, an animal relief area, a nursing room and the ability for those with hearing devices to connect to the public address system.

“Look at this! This is spectacular,” U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“It’s beautiful. Look at the mountains that passengers from all over the country and the world are going to be able to enjoy right here. You have outdone yourself with this beautiful new concourse.”

Stanton said the expansion details a concentrated federal effort to grow airports.

“Sky Harbor alone saw $200 million from the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure law just in the last two years,” Stanton said.

The expansion used no tax dollars and was paid for through airport revenue.