A groundbreaking ceremony will be held tomorrow (15 December) for the transformation of the iconic Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight Center at New York’s JFK International Airport into a 505-room hotel.

The modernist terminal building – a designated New York landmark – was designed by renowned Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962, soon becoming a symbol of the Jet Age. However, it ceased operating in 2001 and has remained out of use since then.

Real estate firm MCR Development – which opened The High Line Hotel in Manhattan – plans to create a new structure, designed by architecture studios Beyer Blinder Belle and Lubrano Ciavarra, which will be set back from the terminal and defer to the landmark. The existing building will also be carefully restored to its original glory.

When finished, the complex will feature a new museum focusing on New York’s role in the glamorous emergence of commercial air travel – as jet airliners began flying higher, faster and further than ever before – and the Mid-Century Modern design movement personified by Saarinen. The hotel will also have eight bars and restaurants restaurants, a spa, and a 10,000sq ft (930,000sq m) observation deck overlooking the airport.

As part of the scheme, the tower’s most famous interior features – including its electronic schedule boards, red-carpeted departures lounge and food court – will be preserved at a cost of US$20m (€18.7m, £15.7m).

The redevelopment plan is a public-private partnership between MCR Development and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Turner Construction is the general contractor.

The budget for the project has formerly been stated as US$265m (€248.6m, £208.5m).

Eero Saarinen's iconic TWA Flight Center to be converted into luxury New York hotel