NEW YORK CITY — MCR and MORSE Development has secured a $230 million construction loan for the transformation of the former TWA Flight Center and construction of the TWA Hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
M&T Bank arranged the loan and provided $60 million of the financing package, which involved several banks.
The redevelopment of the property will include a complete restoration of the 1962 Eero Saarinen-designed midcentury modern building that served as a TWA air terminal from 1962 to 2001. In 2005, the flight center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Scheduled for completion in spring 2019, the TWA Hotel will include 512 rooms with views of JFK’s runways and the TWA Flight Center, as well as a 50,000-square-foot event center.
The property will be JFK’s first on-site, full-service hotel. The completed project will include six restaurants and eight bars, including a cocktail lounge inside of a repurposed Lockheed Constellation “Connie” L-1649A Starliner positioned on the tarmac.
The hotel will offer connections to JFK Terminal 5 via the flight center’s iconic arrival tubes, made famous by the 2002 film Catch Me if You Can.
The flight center will also house a museum focused on the Jet Age, the midcentury modern design movement and TWA, one of America’s largest airlines from 1926 until 2001.
“JFK is one of the nation’s busiest airports and a welcoming point to New York City,” says M&T Bank Long Island Market President Jason Lipiec. “The reimagination of the TWA Flight Center, which was one of New York City’s most prestigious transit icons when it opened in the early 1960s, will have a significant impact on JFK as the hotel will benefit both business and leisure travelers from across the globe.”
M&T Bank was the lead arranger and administrative agent for the multi-bank loan, which included participation from Mercantil Bank, BMO Harris Bank, Western Alliance Bank, Flushing Bank and Union Labor Life Insurance Co.
“The execution of this construction loan, facilitated by M&T Bank, brings us one step closer to reviving this treasured landmark and reopening it to the public for generations to come,” says Tyler Morse, CEO of MCR/MORSE Development.
— David Cohen