The TWA air terminal of New York that so far underwent a prolonged period of abandonment is all geared up to get a special makeover as a designer hotel.
Eero Saarinen, a Finnish architect had designed the TWA Flight Center that is based in New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. It had been completed in the year 1962 as the terminal for Trans World Airlines. Once upon a time, it used to be referred to as the ‘Grand Central of the Jet Age’ owing to its sleek, futuristic design.
However, the TWA went bankrupt in 2001.
This left the New Yorkers struggling with the idea over what might be the fate of the building that had been designated a New York City landmark during 1994. The building had even entered the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Despite the accolades, it witnessed a brief stint as an art gallery and faced about 15 years of neglect.
Currently, MCR Development that is the company instrumental for the construction of the High Line Hotel of New York have visualized am enormous project to create a brand new hotel out of the original Saarinen building.
The new hotel would possess 505 guest rooms along with 22 suites, and also eight restaurants and bars, everything in sync with the distinctive mid-20th century.
So, the main concourse would be converted into a food hall. The former lounge would be molded into a restaurant. Apart from that, two purpose-built, six-storey towers would be created close to the original building. A 10,000 square feet observation deck overlooking the runways would also b built. And, a vintage, four-engined Lockheed Constellation plane on the tarmac would serve as a lounge.
It has been estimated that the development would cost about US$265 million.
But then, the hotel would be funded privately. Its investors would be the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, JetBlue Airways and MCR Development.
The old terminal would serve the pre-and post-flight travellers, over 50 million of whom has passed through JFK each year.
Tyler Morse who is the CEO of MCR Development has asserted that he expects that the room rates would amount to about $250 per night.
He added that the TWA Flight Center Hotel would ensure that the masterpiece of Eero Saarinen is preserved. The construction of the hotel would commence early this year, and is slated to be thrown open to in 2018.
