NYC’s Kennedy airport building luxury animal terminal
ARK Development signed a 32-year lease for the airport property with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey agency that runs JFK.
The large animals will have their own climate-controlled stalls, and doggies will occupy hotel suites featuring flat-screen TVs, bone-shaped splashing pools and spa services. Livestock will be greeted with Hay-lined stalls, and even penguins will be given their own special corner of the terminal to mate in privacy. The 178,000-square-foot terminal will include barns, cages, racetracks, quarantine area, shows, and competition venues.
Dogs can watch flat-screen TVs, and their owners can check in on them via webcam. For cats, there will be trees to climb.
What’s more, there will be a 24-hour veterinary clinic run by Cornell University.
Similar vetports are available at Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and Boston airports but the one at JFK is expected to set a new standard for pet care. Furthermore, the design of The ARK is such that the planes will taxi to the buildings to ensure that horses get on board with minimum discomfort.
Construction of the new terminal is under way on the former site of Cargo Building 78, which has been vacant at JFK for almost a decade. ARK looks to open next year, subject to approval from the US department of Agriculture. Animals will be charged fees – still being determined depending on services – that will help fund the terminal. ARK Development LLC stated that the design was “a model that is anticipated to effectively transform the air transport of animals worldwide”. Typically flying a dog from New York to London comes to about $1,000, not including the crate, and vet certifications.
The ARK’s designers have had to meet challenges not found in other architectural projects – for instance, figuring out how to dispose of animal waste.
A poo chute transfers manure into a container below.
The ARK will cater to animals travelling as cargo as well as those that have to be quarantined.