Hotel Coming To TWA Terminal At JFK

The TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Photo: Acroterion

New York’s John F. Kennedy International will get its first on-site hotel at the iconic TWA Flight Center.

The former terminal, opened in 1962, will be restored and reopened as a 505-room luxury hotel, keeping architect Eero Saarinen’s famous design, with 40,000 square feet of event and meeting space, a museum and an observation deck.

The hotel will incorporate elements of the old TWA terminal, including retro bars and lounges, plus its original passageways, which will be used to connect hotel guests to the JetBlue terminal.

The property—a designated New York City Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places— has been vacant since Trans World Airlines declared bankruptcy in 2001. Since then, hopes to turn it into a hotel have been dashed by delays and red tape.

Now, though, “JFK will be one step closer to being a 21st century transportation hub,” said MCR Development’s Tyler Morse. The company holds a 75-year lease on the flight center.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and other officials held a groundbreaking ceremony last week to celebrate the $265 million project finally being underway.  The TWA Flight Center Hotel will be “a hotel for the future,” Cuomo said, and is “banking on the future” of the airport’s growth.

The TWA Flight Center Hotel is expected to open in late 2018.