17-acre retail development

He says the goal is with this type of development is to increase non-airline revenues. "Every dollar we earn from concessions and other sources reduces the cost to our airlines and their passengers," he says. Koniz said DIA's concessions program has been extremely successful, totaling more than $1 billion in gross sales since the airport opened in 1995. He said the Peña Project "will allow us to boost that figure even higher."

DIA's steadily decreasing airline fees were a major factor in attracting Southwest Airlines, he says. Non-airline revenues allowed DIA officials to lower the fees charged to airlines and helped bring Southwest to Denver.

"Denver International Airport is a trendsetter in this type of commercial land development program," says Susan Stanton, vice president of the DIA Partnership, a regional economic development organization comprised of public, private and community leaders. "Our research has shown that airports throughout the country are looking at their land as an asset and a way to provide more services to their customers, which in turn would reduce costs to the airlines that serve them."