Port Authority Signs Ground Lease With Aeroterm for New JFK Cargo Facility
By Chava Gourarie June 23, 2021 1:24 pm
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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has signed a long-term ground lease with Aeroterm to build its first new cargo facility at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 20 years.
The new facility, on 26 acres of land at the airport, will span 350,000 square feet and cost $145 million to build. Two outdated facilities will be demolished to make way for the new structure.
Demolition is set to begin in September, and the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. The new facility will include 50 docks, dramatically increasing cargo capacity for the airport, and include updated technologies to manage the air cargo that will pass through it.
The project is part of a larger $15 billion overhaul of JFK Airport outlined by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and is part of the Port Authority’s efforts to modernize the airports under its purview, which also includes LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports.
“This cargo modernization program is a critical step forward in the overall redevelopment of JFK airport, at a time air cargo is vital to our regional economic vitality,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said in a prepared statement.
Capital improvement plans for both JFK and LaGuardia were put on hold during the pandemic, with the airports and airlines losing drastic amounts of revenue throughout the travel freeze. The Port Authority was seeking more than $3 billion in federal aid to help fill the hole.
