Archinect - News

JFK's New Terminal One project officially breaks ground

2022-09-19T18:31:00-04:00

First announced in December 2021, the privately-funded, $9.5 billion New Terminal One project at JFK International Airport officially broke ground earlier this month.

The 2.4-million-square-foot international terminal will become JFK’s largest upon completion. Construction will occur in phases on the sites of the current Terminals 1 and 2 as well as the former Terminal 3.

A group of firms, including Carlyle, JLC Infrastructure, and Ullico, are among the private partners behind the undertaking, which bills Gensler in charge of design and AECOM Tishman as the general contractor.

Previously on Archinect: New York Governor Hochul announces $9.5 billion project for new Terminal 1 at JFK

"We're doing it better, because right now you go through a place like Penn Station and the former LaGuardia and the former airports, you just wanted to look down. You shuffled along, you know, just kind of in the masses. You didn't have any reason to feel optimistic, to put a smile on your face," New Yo...

JFK Airport invites ideas for new Central Hub, part of greater $13bn makeover

2019-07-19T16:02:00-04:00

[...] the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is issuing a Request for Information for the design and development of JFK Central, an approximately 14-acre, mixed-use space at the epicenter of the redeveloped John F. Kennedy International Airport. This new site offers a blank canvas to create a centrally-located commercial and recreational public space to serve today's travelers and employees, and capitalizes on the broader transformation of JFK currently underway.

"Airports are the front door to New York which is why it is so important that we transform JFK Airport into an innovative, modern, and accommodating space for domestic and international travelers," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in his announcement of the Request for Information for JFK Central Hub, part of the greater $13 billion airport redevelopment.

"We are moving ahead with a $13 billion transformation plan that will fundamentally reimagine the airport for the 21st century and as part of that effort JFK Central will create a more unified airport and further solidify New York's position as the premier entry point into our country for the rest of the world."

The RFI can be accessed here (PDF).

TWA Hotel behind Saarinen's iconic JFK terminal tops out

2017-12-15T18:13:00-05:00

That didn’t take long: Just about a year after celebrating the groundbreaking of the TWA Hotel, the developer behind the project, MCR, has announced that it’s topped out. The hotel will complement—and connect to—Eero Saarinen’s iconic 1962 TWA Flight Center. The whole shebang is on track to open in early 2019 as the TWA Hotel.

Advisory Panel issues report on improving JFK

2017-01-04T18:21:00-05:00

“Despite its importance to the region, JFK is not the airport passengers expect when arriving in one of the greatest cities in the world,” states the Airport Advisory Panel in their new report to the Governor. That’s a bit of an understatement. As many a traveller knows, JFK isn’t in the best shape. Hence the need for the report, which notes the costs of failing to act. By the mid-2020s, three million more passengers will head into JFK than its facilities can handle. In monetary terms, that amounts to about $140 million in annual wages, $400 million in annual sales, and 2,500 jobs—per each million not accommodated.

So the Panel put together a set of recommendations including:

Modernizing the airport’s terminals, starting with the oldest, and planning all future redevelopment around connections between terminals. The Panel recommends working together with private operators to fund the renovations.
Improving the airport’s roadways and expanding parking.
Expanding taxiways to improve air...

'TWA Hotel' hopes to revive Saarinen's iconic terminal at JFK

2016-12-07T13:01:00-05:00

water would bubble again in Isamu Noguchi’s green marble fountain in the Ambassador Lounge, softly masking the tik-a-tik-a-tik-a-tik-a-tik chatter of a Solari di Udine split-flap display board announcing flight departures and arrivals [...] The architects of the hotel project are Beyer Blinder Belle and Lubrano Ciavarra Architects. Beyer Blinder Belle was responsible for the sumptuous restoration of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

The $265 million TWA Hotel project, slated to open in late 2018, would be connected to Saarinen's Trans World Flight Center and Terminal 5 through tubes that used to guide passengers from TWF to their aircraft. As reported by the Times, the Hotel plan has been hailed by preservationists for its restoration of the terminal, which will require developer MCR to "remediate asbestos throughout the headhouse and rebuild or update mechanical systems." However, preservationists aren't so jazzed about the hotel's six stories, one fearing its height would "effectively imprison the headhouse, both reducing the amount of natural light entering it and severely restricting the outward views from the interior.”

For more on Saarinen's terminal and happenings at JFK:

Eero Saarinen's dormant JFK terminal to become Jet Blue hotel

2015-09-18T12:33:00-04:00

JetBlue and MCR will build hotel rooms from the ground up next to the terminal and refurbish the interior of the building to become the property’s main entrance. [...] It is to have 505 rooms, 40,000 square feet of meeting space, up to eight eateries and an observation deck. The old terminal will serve as the lobby, with the rest of the hotel set back from it in a new building.

Jet Blue's hotel will be JFK's first, finally utilizing Saarinen's masterpiece after 14 years (and counting) of vacancy.

For more news at JFK:

Fancy $48M animal terminal to open in JFK Airport next year

2015-07-21T15:20:00-04:00

When a new terminal called The Ark opens next year, 178,000 sq.ft of posh amenities will include everything from a resort with suites that have large flat-screen TVs, to climate-controlled stalls, showers, massages, a private space especially set aside for penguin mating, a paw-shaped dog swimming pool, a jungle for cats made of live trees...and stables full of the finest hay a horse could hope for...But how much will this cost you? Don't expect flea motel rates.

JetBlue tapped as prospective developer for JFK TWA terminal

2015-04-16T17:34:00-04:00

[JetBlue Airways] reportedly wants to get into the hotel business by partnering with New York-based hotel developer MCR Development to turn the landmarked terminal into a 500-room hotel. The deal isn't final—the parties are in 'advanced negotiations'—so things could still fall apart...The Port Authority previously chose hotelier Andre Balazs as the developer, but Balazs backed out after realizing how long the project would take. He told the [WSJ] his company had 'more interesting opportunities.'

Previously: Hotelier Andre Balazs to convert JFK’s historic TWA terminal into a hotel and conference center

Design archives of Jackie Kennedy's Wexford House to be auctioned

2015-02-06T20:48:00-05:00

Over 400 pieces that archive the construction and design of the presidential Kennedy family's Wexford House will soon be up for sale at a live auction on February 19 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts that will be hosted by Boston-based auction company RR Auction. Bidding begins February 12-18.

The vast collection consists of three large binders and two large folders that contain oversized building plans, paperwork, photographs, magazine tearouts with Jackie's written design notes, and handwritten correspondence that covers almost all the construction and design aspects of the Wexford House -- including 10 letters that Jackie penned herself. The collection spans from 1961-64 with emphasis on 1963, the main year of construction.

The story behind the Wexford House reads like a saccharine yet bittersweet tale of the elusive American Dream. Named by Jackie as a nod to JFK's Irish roots, the Wexford House was constructed from late 1962 and completed in the summer of 196...

Hotelier, Andre Balazs, to convert JFK’s historic TWA terminal into a hotel and conference center

2013-09-09T19:55:00-04:00

The Eero Saarinen-designed terminal will be transformed into a hotel and conference center, along with food and beverage offerings, retail space, a spa and fitness center, meeting facilities and a flight museum. “It is a great honor to be entrusted with the preservation and revitalization of this masterpiece by my personal architectural hero,” said Balazs. He added that he’s looking forward to the approval of his final proposal by the PA board, but didn’t comment on a specific time frame.