New York City’s airport system is one of the world’s largest and busiest, but far from the most modern. Opened in the 1930s and 40s, and trendsetting at the time, the three major airports — John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International — are now outdated. They are each notorious for delays and poor passenger experience, but LaGuardia is decidedly the worst of the bunch. “For too long, LaGuardia has been the stepchild of our region’s airports compared to JFK and Newark International,” said RXR Realty head Scott Rechler, who also serves as vice chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs all three. The PA is getting closer to making some long-overdue upgrades. And the developers, construction firms, architecture firms and lenders that they select for those multi-billion-dollar projects will see a major boon in business. In the spring, the agency tapped a group, including construction giant Skanska and architecture firm HOK, to expand and revamp the main terminal at LaGuardia. The agency will also soon choose a developer to turn the landmarked TWA Flight Center at JFK into a hotel. Hotelier André Balazs won the original bid in 2013, but dropped out just a few months later, citing the PA bureaucracy. “As much as that building is iconic, dealing with the Port Authority became too much and too slow-going for us,” he told The Real Deal last year. Read on for a rundown of the needs and changes at the airports.
53.2 million
Number of passengers who traveled through JFK in 2014. Meanwhile, 35.6 million used Newark and 26.9 million passed through LaGuardia. NYC’s airport system is the world’s second largest, trailing only London.
$404.5 million
Total value of 2014 retail sales at JFK, which has about 299,500 square feet of retail space. That’s up from $319.5 million in 2012. LaGuardia’s retailers, which occupy about 90,000 square feet, saw sales of $137.2 million last year. The airports have upped their retail game in recent years. JFK, for example, has brought on Michael Kors, men’s clothier Thomas Pink, burger joint Shake Shack and NYC BBQ pioneer Blue Smoke.
3rd
As in “Third World.” “If I blindfolded someone,” Vice President Joe Biden said last year, “and took him to LaGuardia Airport in New York, he would think, ‘I must be in some third-world country.’ I’m not joking.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo later agreed. Donald Trump echoed the comment while announcing his presidential run.
$3.6 billion
Cost to renovate LGA’s Central Terminal under the contract awarded in May. The group that won the bid, which will contribute $2.2 billion, is a partnership between Skanska, HOK, airport operator Vantage Airport Group and financial firms Meridiam, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. The rest of the money will come from the PA.
17.5 million
The number of passengers expected to fly from LaGuardia’s Central Terminal (Terminal B) by 2030. The Mad Men-era facility was designed to accommodate 8 million departures. About 13.5 million flew from there last year.
$400 million
The limit, set by the PA board, on the cost to add a “grand entrance” to the LaGuardia upgrade. The proposal for an entry portal, which would join Terminals B and C, came from a master plan for the airport conceived in a design competition pushed by Cuomo, who called the PA’s original revamp of only Terminal B shortsighted. If built, it would raise the cost of the new terminal by about 10 percent.
1.3 million
Square footage of LaGuardia’s planned new Central Terminal, up from today’s 835,000. The new terminal will have three levels, 35 gates and 97,000 square feet for retail concessions, 95 percent of which will be on the gate-side of security. Right now, 95 percent of LaGuardia’s retail is located pre-security, which many say is nonsensical.
5
00
Number of rooms reportedly included in a proposal from JetBlue and hotel developer MCR Development for transforming the Eero Saarinen-designed TWA Flight Center at JFK. The futuristic “Jet Age” terminal opened in 1962 and closed in 2001, when TWA went under. The PA is also reportedly considering a second plan for a revamp of the landmarked building, from a group led by boutique hotelier Ian Schrager that includes the Witkoff Group.
70,000
Number of domestic and wild animals that will pass through JFK’s new animals-only terminal, dubbed the ARK. The facility, being built by a subsidiary of private investment firm Racebrook, will include 178,000 square feet of interior and up to 20,000 feet of exterior space. It will cost a projected $48 million.
Sources: Airport Revenue News, Forbes, NBC4-NY, CNN, Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and TRD reporting.