The empty Eero Saarinen-designed terminal at New York’s JFK airport is set to become a hotel, according to Crain’s.

Built in 1962, the modernist TWA Flight Center has been closed since 2001 but the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will this week give the go-ahead to airline JetBlue and MCR Development’s conversion plans.

‘First-class hotels are a mark of a 21st-century airport and JFK and LaGuardia are among the very few major airports without this amenity,’ Joe Sitt, the chairman of airport advocacy group Global Gateway Alliance told Crain’s.

‘We applaud the Port Authority for moving ahead with plans to develop the iconic TWA Flight Center, because it’s past time for a smart use for the building and for an on-airport hotel available to millions of JFK passengers.’

Saarinen’s terminal will house the hotel lobby, and a new 505-room structure will be built behind it. There are also plans for 40,000 sq ft of event space, eight eateries and an observation deck.

Past proposals have included converting the concrete building into a restaurant, a conference centre and an aviation museum. Hotelier André Balazs also looked into the former terminal as a potential outpost for his Standard hotels back in 2013.