NEW YORK CITY—Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the formal approval of a long-range lease deal to turn the landmark TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy Airport into a vast hotel complex. Plans for the property—which is expected to open in 2018—were first announced earlier this year.
The project, approved today by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's board of commissioners, calls for a 75-year lease agreement with Flight Center Hotel, a partnership of MCR Development and JetBlue Airways Corp., to remake the TWA Flight Center and its nearly six-acre site into JFK's only on-airport hotel. MCR Development will maintain 95% ownership of the hotel and JetBlue will have 5%.
Flight Center will invest approximately $265 million to continue renovations of the historical TWA Flight Center, while developing 505 hotel rooms, 40,000 square feet of meeting space, restaurants, a spa and a 10,000-square-foot observation deck. The complex will feature two six-story hotel towers and a micro-grid energy management system, allowing the building to generate its own power. The Port Authority also will conduct a $20 million renovation to comply with the building's historic designation
“This administration has committed to modernizing New York's airports for the 21st century by creating gateways worthy of New York City and ensuring travelers have the services they need,'' says Gov. Cuomo. “At the TWA Flight Center, we are able to meet those goals while also preserving its iconic design for passengers to enjoy for decades to come.”
Development of an on-airport hotel fulfils a key recommendation provided by the Governor's Airport Master Plan Advisory Panel for Kennedy Airport's master plan. Along with the developer's financial commitment, the Port Authority also will invest up to $8 million in a connector to the JetBlue terminal, a parking garage and AirTrain Station to serve the hotel complex.
Port Authority executive director Pat Foye says, “The Port Authority is proud to ensure the TWA Flight Center plays a critical role in JFK Airport's future, while acknowledging its importance in aviation history. The new hotel will serve the growing needs of our passengers throughout the 21st century, with a touch of the bygone era of glamorous mid-20th Century jet-age travel.”
The TWA Flight Center opened in 1962 and served as TWA's terminal at JFK until 2001. When the building was shut down because it could no longer accommodate today's passenger volumes or modern aircraft, the Port Authority undertook an intricate renovation to preserve a part of aviation history.
In 1994, the city of New York designated the terminal a historic landmark and in 2005 the National Park Service listed the TWA Flight Center on the National Register of Historic Places.
Over the past decade, the building has had a limited role for special events, such as Open House New York public openings, JetBlue conferences and the 50th anniversary celebration of the Beatles 1964 arrival at JFK for the rock band's first visit to the United States that kicked off Beatlemania and the British Invasion.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
