JetBlue taps RXR Realty and Vantage Airport Group for JFK expansion
Rendering of JFK Airport via Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office
JetBlue Airways this week selected RXR Realty and Vantage Airport Group to lead its planned terminal expansion at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The project, estimated to cost between $2 billion and $3 billion, will add larger gates in order to fit wider planes. JetBlue, which currently operates out of JFK’s Terminal 5, will expand across to Terminal 6 and possibly Terminal 7, according to the Wall Street Journal. The proposed expansion comes over a year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a $10 billion overhaul of JFK, aimed at expanding and redeveloping terminals, redesigning on-airport roadways for easier access and adding more dining and retail options. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency which oversees the airport’s operations, will work with JetBlue about if and when the project can proceed.
Canada-based firm Vantage is quite familiar with airport development projects, with over 20 years of experience working on them. The firm is also a part of the consortium redeveloping LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B, a $4 billion project. This will be the first airport project for RXR, a local real estate developer that is also handling the expansion of Google’s Pier 57.
JetBlue’s Terminal 5 features 29 narrow-body gates. The airline’s chief financial officer, Steve Priest, told the WSJ that the expansion could add 12 larger gates.
JFK remains one of the busiest airports in the country, serving nearly 60 million passengers in 2017, a jump from 49 million in 2012. Priest said 10 companies submitted proposals to partner with the airline because of “potentially great returns on a long-term lease in a high-demand environment.”
In addition to JFK’s $10 billion revamp, other Metro-Area airports are currently undergoing overhauls. The Port Authority in December approved a budget that puts $578 million toward the $8 billion redevelopment of LaGuardia and $167 million toward a $2.3 billion redevelopment of Newark’s Terminal A. As 6sqft recently learned, Grimshaw Architects released their design of Newark’s new Terminal One (which will replace Terminal A). The new terminal will accommodate a higher capacity and add better amenities.
[Via WSJ]
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