The 26 gates of the 635,000-sf terminal are distributed throughout concourses on three levels. The new terminal has a 55,000-sf retail area with 22 food concessions and 35 specialty retail stores, and two ticketing areas with e-ticket kiosks. The terminal was majority funded by and built in collaboration with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. A new parking garage and the intra-terminal AirTrain are connected to the terminal by a skywalk.

The terminal building team was lead by Arup--planners and design managers--and supported by Gensler--terminal architects--DMJM Harris--airside/landside civil engineers--Rockwell Group--interior architects. Turner Construction served as the construction management for the project. Responsibilities included scheduling, budgeting, cost estimating, value analysis, purchasing and construction supervision services for the new terminal and its associated roadways, ramps and connectors. The Port Authority Master Plan was developed by William Bodouva & Associates.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive director Chris Ward, among others, were in attendance. "JetBlue's new terminal represents a major investment in New York City and is a tremendous vote of confidence in our future," says Mayor Bloomberg, in a prepared statement. "JetBlue is a classic New York success story, and we've worked hard to help it grow by marketing our city to tourists around the world. Expanding our tourism industry--last year we hit a record 46 million visitors--is an important part of our effort to diversify New York City's economy, and as Wall Street stumbles, that effort is more important than ever. We have set a goal of reaching 50 million visitors annually by 2012. Private investments in state-of-the-art terminals like this one will help us meet that goal - and create thousands of new jobs for New Yorkers in all five boroughs."

Manhattan's travel and tourism industry continues to grow. According to a prepared release, visitor arrivals to the City through the first half of 2008 grew 10% over the same period last year, accounting for an additional 400,000 visitors. Domestic visitors to New York City account for 80% of the 46 million visitors who traveled to New York City in 2007.

In addition to facilitating improvements at JFK Airport, the City is working to support and revitalize the surrounding area. The City's 368-block Jamaica rezoning was adopted in September of 2007, setting the stage for the creation of three million sf of new office, retail and hotel space, 9,500 jobs, and 5,200 units of housing while protecting its lower scale residential blocks. Jamaica's renaissance is a key component of the transit-centered development laid out in PlaNYC, leveraging Jamaica's AirTrain Station and transit access. Jetblue did not respond to GlobeSt.com queries by deadline.

Instant Insights /

$875M Terminal Doubles Jetblue's JFK Capacity

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