By Dana Schulz, Wed, August 8, 2018 The Starstream Ballroom, via MCR
Getting married next spring? Or maybe you’re planning a large conference? Either way, if mid-century-modern is your thing, then the news that the TWA Hotel is now booking events for the spring of 2019 and beyond is sure to be exciting. Ahead of reservations for guestrooms opening in December, we now have a first look at the 50,000 square feet of event space, including two ballrooms, a pre-function space complete with Saarinen-designed Knoll furniture like tulip tables and womb chairs, and six high-tech skyboxes.
Get a look at all the spaces
By Devin Gannon, Tue, April 17, 2018 Image via David Mitchell
Guests staying at the TWA Flight Center Hotel will be transported back to 1962 through rooms decorated with Eero Saarinen-designed Knoll furnishings, martini bars and terrazzo-tiled bathrooms with Hollywood-style vanities. MCR and MORSE Development unveiled on Tuesday a model of the guest rooms at the hotel, located at the John F. Kennedy Airport, part of the landmark flight center’s restoration and repurposing. Scheduled to open in 2019, the 512-room hotel is found in two low-rise, wing-shaped buildings behind the flight center, an homage to Saarinen’s iconic design. The center will serve as the hotel’s lobby, measuring 200,000 square feet, the largest hotel lobby in the world. The buildings, which officially topped out last month, will have a seven-layer, soundproofed-glass facade to provide the ultimate quiet retreat.
Check it out
By Devin Gannon, Tue, March 27, 2018 Rendering of JFK Airport via Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office
JetBlue Airways this week selected RXR Realty and Vantage Airport Group to lead its planned terminal expansion at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The project, estimated to cost between $2 billion and $3 billion, will add larger gates in order to fit wider planes. JetBlue, which currently operates out of JFK’s Terminal 5, will expand across to Terminal 6 and possibly Terminal 7, according to the Wall Street Journal. The proposed expansion comes over a year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a $10 billion overhaul of JFK, aimed at expanding and redeveloping terminals, redesigning on-airport roadways for easier access and adding more dining and retail options. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency which oversees the airport’s operations, will work with JetBlue about if and when the project can proceed.
More details here
By Devin Gannon, Mon, March 26, 2018 Photo by Max Touhey
MCR and Morse Development’s repurposing of Eero Saarinen’s historic TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport into a hotel, event space and dining destination continues to move full speed ahead. The second crescent-shaped tower of the TWA Hotel officially topped out this week, nearly a year ahead of its spring 2019 opening. The hotel will contain 505 rooms, a rooftop pool, an observation deck, eight bars and restaurants and 50,000 square feet of event space. Saarinen’s landmarked TWA Flight Center terminal building will serve as the hotel lobby, a 200,000-square-foot space with retail, restaurants and bars.
Find out more
By Devin Gannon, Fri, December 8, 2017 Interior rendering of LaGuardia Airport, via Governor Andrew Cuomo on Flickr
With the approval of its $8 billion 2018 budget on Thursday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to spend more than $1 billion on major redevelopment projects at LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International and JFK Airports next year. The agency’s board of commissioners approved a budget that allocates $3.2 billion for operating expenses and $3.4 billion for capital expenses. According to the Wall Street Journal, $578 million will be put toward the $8 billion redevelopment of LaGuardia and $167 million toward a $2.3 billion redevelopment plan of Newark’s Terminal A.
Find out more
By Devin Gannon, Fri, September 29, 2017 Rendering of TWA Hotel via MCR
MCR Development officially launched the mid-century modern TWA Lounge on the 86th floor of One World Trade Center on Thursday and provided a deeper look into plans to convert Eero Saarinen’s historic TWA flight center at JFK Airport into a hotel, event space, and dining destination (there will even be a bar in a vintage aircraft parked outside). As part of a public-private partnership between MCR and the Port Authority, the project will rehabilitate the landmarked Queens flight center by restoring the majority of its 1960s Jet Age features and adding a crescent-shaped hotel with 505 rooms flanking the original building on each side. According to MCR’s CEO Tyler Morse, construction of the hotel is on schedule; it will go vertical on Monday, top out in December, and have its curtainwall applied by January. If everything remains on schedule, the project is expected to open in 18 months.
More details and photos this way
By Penelope Bareau, Mon, May 15, 2017 Pan Am Boeing 707-100 via Wikipedia
Changes are afoot at JFK International Airport; construction has already begun on the transformation of Eero Saarinen’s masterful TWA terminal, out of commission since TWA folded in 2001, into a 505-room first class hotel, and just a few months ago, Governor Cuomo announced a massive $10 billion overhaul of the whole airport, which will involve interconnecting the terminals, redesigning roads, and improving parking, amenities and security. When finished, the airport will bear little resemblance to what it once was, which has a much more interesting history than one might think. Ahead, 6sqft delves into how JFK changed from a playground for the rich to a major international airport, with some interesting debacles in between.
The whole history ahead
By Diane Pham, Wed, March 8, 2017 The excitement was palpable yesterday evening as New Yorkers packed into the SVA Theatre for a special presentation on one of the city’s most important rehabilitation projects: the redevelopment of Eero Saarinen’s iconic TWA flight center into a hotel. Taking the stage were the development and architecture teams who divulged a slew of new details regarding the design, the hotel’s offer, and even the pricing of the rooms.
more details from the night’s event here
By Michelle Cohen, Tue, February 21, 2017 Image by Grant Wickens via flick CC
As far back as 2015, 6sqft reported that the Port Authority was considering fees for vehicles pulling up curbside to drop off or pick up passengers at New York City’s airports as a way to reduce the congestion that has worsened since services like Uber and Lyft have arrived. The city’s airports are among the only ones in the U.S. that don’t charge curbside access fees. Now the Daily News has obtained a Port Authority draft proposal outlining the proposed fees. Taxi and hired car passengers could be hit with a $4 charge for each trip in and out of Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports as early as next year. The fee would be charged to the car operators and would presumably be passed to passengers
The idea is not getting a warm reception
By Dana Schulz, Fri, February 17, 2017 The Port Authority Board of Commissioners yesterday approved a $32.2 billion, 10-year capital plan–the agency’s largest ever. The major allocations include: $3.5 billion to begin the planning and construction of a new Port Authority Bus Terminal; $10 billion towards improving trans-Hudson commuting, including a $1.5 billion Goethals Bridge replacement, completion of the $1.6 billion Bayonne Bridge rebuilding, and a $2 billion rehab of the George Washington Bridge; $11.6 billion in major airport upgrades, which factors in $4 billion for the new LaGuardia Terminal B, a plan to extend the PATH train from Newark Penn Station to the Newark Airport, and the beginning of Cuomo’s JFK overhaul; and $2.7 billion towards the Gateway rail tunnel project.
More details ahead
