By 2016, jet-setting animals leaving from and arriving to the John F. Kennedy airport in New York will get to enjoy luxury accommodations in the first ever airport terminal for pets.
The $48 million project, dubbed The ARK and developed by Racebrook Capital, will be able to accommodate 70,000 animals once it opens in 2016. Construction is already underway, according to CNN.
Spanning 178,000 sq. ft. in the airport's unused terminal, The ARK will feature a full-service 24-hour staff that will make transporting pets and livestock easier to facilitate. When it opens, it will replace the smaller-spaced Vetport that is currently handling all animals flying in and out of the United States through JFK.
The terminal will offer:
- A lodging area where pets can eat, drink and play while waiting to board;
- Separate climate-controlled units for horses;
- Veterinary staff who can also do surgeries and emergency care;
- 24-hour monitored pet resort with flat-screen TV and jungle gym;
- Grooming and pet massage section;
- Special room for mating animals;
- An area for livestock export cargo.
"With demand for pets and animals of all kinds transported by air escalating year on year, we recognized the need for a more humane and efficient model for this significant segment of the air travel industry," said Aaron S. Perl, The ARK managing director, according to The Daily Beast.
The project was first announced back in 2012.
