Meet TWA Hotel: Best Development and Design Gold Winner

In the judges’ view, this widely acclaimed example of adaptive reuse proves “that no real estate goes obsolete.” Also recognized with a Gold Award for its design, the reinvention of the historic TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport required MCR/Morse Development, the project’s sponsor, to successfully navigate an unusually large number of stakeholder interests. To gain approval, the joint venture completed New York City’s 12-month uniform land use review procedure and worked with 22 government agencies and 14 preservationist groups. The property had been abandoned for nearly 20 years and threatened with demolition until the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey selected MCR/Morse to redevelop the site.

See the full list of CPE 2020 Distinguished Achievement Award winners.

The team transformed the property into a 400,000-square-foot campus. At its center is a 512-key hotel situated in two new buildings; a 50,000-square-foot event center; a 10,000-square-foot fitness center; and 200,000 square feet of open public space. Other elements include retail shops, a restaurant, a poolside bar, a food hall and museum exhibits. “It’s a really complicated project,” the judges remarked, with “so many plates to balance in the air.”

Read more about all the winners.