JFK Airport Is Turning Its Saarinen-Designed Terminal Into A Hotel And Nightclub
Hanging out at the airport isn't really something anyone actually wants to do, but a major renovation coming to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) might soon change that.
The airport's Trans World Flight Center, built in 1962 but abandoned in 2001, will soon be converted into a 505-room hotel with restaurants, a nightclub, an event space and even a food court, according to the New York Times.
Basically, if you fly out of JFK, your vacation itinerary will start before you even take off for your trip.
The TWA terminal, designed by Eero Saarinen, is an official New York City landmark and relic of the Jet Age, when a new era of civil aviation began. However, the terminal wasn't built with the capacity to handle the increasing numbers of travelers, nor the larger "jumbo jets" like the Boeing 747, that appeared in the years to follow. It soon became obsolete.
Despite several expansion attempts throughout the decades, it finally closed and was left deserted for fifteen years.
Trans World Airlines president Charles Carpenter Tillinhast Jr. poses in front of the under-construction TWA Flight Center in 1961.
Now, a $265 million renovation project will not only restore the lavish conditions and futuristic design of its heyday, but also add six to eight restaurants, a nightclub, 40,000 square feet of event space, a 10,000-square-foot public observation deck, a food court and a six-story, two-building hotel, which will be set back from the original terminal, the Times reports.
The new structure will be called The TWA Hotel, and is set to open in late 2018. It'll also be the airport's first and only onsite lodging, meaning no more snoozing in airport lounges when a blizzard rolls in and your flight gets cancelled.
Lubrano Ciavarra Architects and Beyer Blinder Belle, the group behind the revitalization of Grand Central Terminal and renovations at the Empire State Buiding, will design the project.
To uphold Saarinen's design while still integrating the new hotel into the airport, the building and hotel will be connected to JetBlue's neighboring Terminal 5 via TWA's original arched tunnels, which were built to lead passengers to their aircraft, the Times reports. The building's history will also be preserved through an on-site museum, which will illustrate the terminal's history and Saarinen's design.
The developer and lead investor on the project is MCR Development, which is also responsible for the adaptive re-use and restoration of The High Line Hotel in Manhattan.
h/t: Luxury Listings
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