A fourth will be a whole new concept: a bar and restaurant inside a rather rare Lockheed Constellation plane dubbed “the Connie.” It’s the ultimate wink at the building’s biggest failure, considering that the terminal was designed specifically to accommodate the Constellation aircraft but opened after years of construction, just as they were taken out of circulation. It’s what made the TWA terminal instantly obsolete—but stands to make the TWA hotel instantly buzzy.
As for the 505 rooms? They’ll fill two curved towers currently being built from the ground up, which will loosely hug the oval shape of the Saarinen building. (Windows will be more soundproof than the current, triple-paned standard; Morse boasted his project might actually become the world’s quietest hotel.) Also included will be 50,000 square-feet of conference, event, and meeting spaces—imagine a TWA terminal wedding!—along with an “Equinox-level” gym, the rooftop pool, a TWA-themed museum with displays of vintage uniforms and New York aviation history, and a 10,000-square-foot public observation deck. The latter, in particular, points to the possibility of day passes for locals or for travelers on long layovers; the hotel will need more than late-night flight cancellations to fill its plethora of spaces.
“The debut of the TWA Hotel is great news for the Queens community and the growing number of travelers who pass through Kennedy Airport each year,” said Robin Hayes, president and chief executive officer of JetBlue Airways Corp., the major airline occupying the hotel’s neighboring T5.
Travelers will have to wait until at least the end of 2018 to see the final product. That’s when construction is slated to wrap, if none of the 22 government agencies and organizations or 135 companies working on the project provide cause for delay. Let the click-clack, split-flap countdown begin.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.