The famous Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight Center at New York’s JFK International Airport is set to be converted into a luxury hotel themed around the airport’s golden jet age.
New York state governor Andrew M. Cuomo has formally approved a $265m (€244.3m, £177.6m) project to renovate the centre and create two new six-storey hotel towers.
According to plans, the hotel will feature 505 guestrooms, a new aviation museum, several restaurants, a spa, and a 10,000sq ft (930,000sq m) observation deck overlooking the airport.
The iconic stark white TWA terminal was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962. It soon became synonymous in the US with the glamorous emergence of commercial air travel, as jet airliners began flying higher, faster and further than ever before.
As part of the scheme, the tower’s most famous interior features – including its electronic schedule boards, red-carpeted departures lounge and food court – will be preserved at a cost of US$20m (€18.4m, £13.4m).
Saarinen’s centre – which was designated a New York landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1994 – is no longer in use, prompting development company MCR to reimagine the space.
An initial 75-year lease deal has now been agreed between MCR – in partnership with the JetBlue Airways Corporation – and the state of New York to create the six-acre hotel complex.
Governor Cuomo said: “We have committed to modernising New York’s airports for the 21st century by creating gateways worthy of New York City. The TWA Flight Center will meet those goals while also preserving its iconic design for passengers to enjoy for decades to come.”
An architect for the project has yet to be announced.
