NEW YORK, NY– ARK Development, LLC, an affiliate of leading real estate company Racebrook Capital, announced today it has signed a 30-year lease with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to develop, finance, construct, operate and manage The ARK at JFK, a $48-million, 178,000-square-foot state-of-the-art animal handling and intelligent air cargo facility. The ARK will be the world’s only privately owned animal handling cargo terminal and USDA-approved, full-service 24-hour airport quarantine facility for the import and export of horses, pets, birds, and livestock.
The ARK at JFK will be constructed at the current site of Cargo Building 78 at JFK, with 14.4 acres of surrounding ground area, which includes direct airside access to the taxiway and large aircraft ramp parking. It will be divided into three complementary sections: the air cargo wing, a central administrative and business center with 24-hour veterinary hospital, and the main animal handling facility with pet boarding, animal import and export center, and livestock export handling system.
“We developed The Ark concept to address the unmet needs for the import and export of companion, sporting and agricultural animals,” said The ARK at JFK Founder and Racebrook Chairman John J. Cuticelli, Jr. “The animal terminal will set new international airport standards for comprehensive veterinary, kenneling and quarantine services.”
The $48 million project will create more than 180 jobs and generate revenues for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey estimated at $108 million over the span of the project’s 30-year lease. The completed facility will significantly increase cargo throughput at the airport.
“Redeveloping cargo infrastructure and growing the cargo pie at New York and New Jersey’s airports is vital to supporting thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity for the region,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. “ARK’s investment of $48 million into JFK will transform an airport structure that has been vacant for nearly 10 years into a world-class specialty cargo facility, and the agreement guarantees the Port Authority more than $100 million in revenue without any additional capital investment.”
Financing will be facilitated by Build NYC, the City’s conduit bond issuer, which will issue bonds underwritten by Goldman Sachs, as well as equity partner Westport Capital Partners LLC, and construction lender The Union Labor Life Insurance Co., Real Estate Investment Group. “Build NYC bonds are a crucial tool in the City’s overall efforts to drive the economy, encouraging business growth and job creation in all five boroughs,” said Jeffrey Lee, Executive Director of Build NYC. “The Air Cargo industry at JFK is an important component of New York City’s greater economy, directly responsible for over 17,000 jobs, and The ARK at JFK will help bolster JFK’s competitive advantage as an international air cargo gateway, a major New York City Economic Development Corporation priority.”
The ARK at JFK has been designed by leading architects, designers and engineers, including master architect Gensler, equine-specialty architect Gralla Equine Architects (GH2), construction manager Holt and Grandin Livestock Handling Systems (GLHS), with guidance from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Gensler is accustomed to designing airports with an eye to fostering wellbeing for people, yet The ARK at JFK posed a unique design challenge for us: to create a place that could ease and simplify the sometimes complex process of transporting animals by plane,” said Gensler Architect and Senior Associate Cliff Bollmann. “For the animals who pass through The Ark, as well as the people who own them, air travel can be stressful and confusing.” He added that, “aligning the needs of quarantine with kenneling and elevating the experience for animals and their owners, our design team sought to create a comfortable, healthy environment for them all.”
Holt Construction has been intimately involved in the construction planning of The ARK at JFK for the past several years. Holt’s President Christopher Asaro is “thrilled to be part of this unparalleled project. The importance of this project cannot be overstated, as it is the first of its kind. The ARK will stimulate the local economy while providing a wider range of services to a variety of animals, its benefit to the airlines as well as the local and global communities makes this a model project in our industry.”
“The ARK at JFK represents an enormous leap forward in the care and comfort of horses and cattle that travel through the airport,” said Ms. Lachlan Oldaker, RA, Specialty Practice Leader/Senior Equine Architect, GH2 Gralla Equine Architects. “The design allows planes to taxi directly to the building, so horses can be transported in a seamless fashion that reduces stress.”
Ms. Oldaker added that there is a large animal departure lounge, where horses for export have access to comfortable stalls, food and water. There is also an arrival area where the horses’ vitals are taken before they are placed in individually climate controlled units equipped with bedding and natural light. The cattle handling facility is similarly designed for optimal ease. “This really is a worry-free, one-stop shop for passengers and animals, thanks to the various on-site offerings, including Paradise 4 Paws, an aviary and a veterinarian,” she said.
The ARK at JFK will provide both airside and landside services to board, kennel, quarantine, import, export and transport large and small animals. Additional services will include transportation in dedicated climate controlled vehicles from aircraft, terminals, cargo facilities and other airport locations. A livestock export handling system designed by Professor Temple Grandin, the leading authority on livestock movement, will allow for the safe and efficient handling of cattle, goats, pigs and sheep from truck to aircraft.
Racebrook is subleasing approximately half of the facility to Consolidated Aviation Services (CAS), North America’s leading air cargo ground handler, which will serve as the anchor tenant. CAS will handle non-animal airfreight for the terminal including the receipt, storage and distribution of air cargo. “We are excited to partner with Racebrook on such a monumental and visionary project that will utterly transform the way other airports approach their animal handling responsibilities,” said Mike Duffy, CEO of Consolidated Aviation Services, which will serve as the exclusive ground handler for the ARK and Sky team, including Air France, the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France; Alitalia, the national airline of Italy; and KLM, the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands.
In addition, Paradise 4 Paws will bring award-winning service in the form of a 20,000-square-foot 24-hour pet resort with overnight accommodations for cats and dogs, dog daycare, grooming, training, and airport parking. “Paradise 4 Paws has been expanding significantly over the past year, with our most recent opening at Denver International Airport, and we are thrilled to now be able to offer our services to travelers out of JFK Airport,” said Saq Nadeem, Top Dog and CEO at Paradise 4 Paws.
A key component of The ARK at JFK will be state-of-the-art veterinary services available 24/7, 365 days per year, including general medicine, emergency, critical care, internal medicine, surgery and advanced diagnostics provided by LIFECARETM, a new veterinary hospital system committed to providing the most advanced medical care options and treatments to pets across the country. The LIFECARE Veterinary Health System also includes several renowned veterinary specialty practices in the northeast, including Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey, VRC in southeastern Pennsylvania and East End Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center in Long Island, NY. “LIFECARE’s partnership with The ARK at JFK is a perfect fit for our growing organization as we are committed to providing state-of-the-art and comprehensive veterinary care for pets whenever and wherever life takes our clients,” said John Payne, CEO and Founder of LIFECARE.
“We are excited to embark upon such a game-changing development, which will revolutionize the care of animals in an aviation environment,” said Dr. Aaron S. Perl, Founder and Managing Director of The ARK at JFK and General Counsel of The Racebrook Portfolio Companies. “We are proud to have brought together one of the most prestigious project development teams in the field to bring this vision to life.”
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About ARK Development, LLC:
ARK Development’s managing member is a subsidiary of Racebrook, a private equity firm and portfolio of companies based in New York City that finances, develops, constructs, operates and manages real estate assets.
About The Racebrook Portfolio Companies:
Racebrook is a real estate private equity, management and advisory portfolio of companies, founded by John J. Cuticelli, Jr., in 2004, as a division of Warburg Pincus LLC. Since its inception, Racebrook has acquired and invested in real property, including direct and indirect interests in improved and unimproved real estate, loans, and securities, and provided focused solutions for a wide array of related assets. Racebrook and its affiliates have the ability to invest principally in real property – including but not limited to direct or indirect interests in improved and unimproved real estate, loans, and securities including non-performing commercial mortgage loans ("NPLs" and "CMBS") and other real estate related assets across North America; operate real property, with significant experience in development, redevelopment, entitlements, property management, and leasing; and workout, restructure, and advise on real property as well as on sub- and non-performing commercial loans secured by real property. Racebrook is the parent of Sheldon Good & Co., the nation’s leading property auction company, which is celebrating its fiftieth year in operation.
About The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Founded in 1921, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey builds, operates, and maintains many of the most important transportation and trade infrastructure assets in the country. The agency's network of aviation, ground, rail, and seaport facilities is among the busiest in the country, supports more than 550,000 regional jobs, and generates more than $23 billion in annual wages and $80 billion in annual economic activity. The Port Authority also owns and manages the 16-acre World Trade Center site, where construction crews are building the iconic One World Trade Center, which is now the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. The Port Authority receives no tax revenue from either the State of New York or New Jersey or from the City of New York. The agency raises the necessary funds for the improvement, construction or acquisition of its facilities primarily on its own credit. For more information, please visit http://www.panynj.gov.
About Consolidated Aviation Services
Consolidated Aviation Services is based at JFK International Airport and provides passenger and ramp handling, international and domestic cargo warehouse and ramp handling and facility management to over 100 Air Carriers at more than 50 airport locations in the United States and Canada. CAS is the largest cargo handler at JFK with extensive experience in live animal handling and serving over 40 Air Carriers in six cargo facilities.
About Paradise 4 Paws
Since opening its first location near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in 2008, Paradise 4 Paws has become the preeminent pet resort in the Denver, Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicagoland areas. The award-winning pet resorts feature 20,000+ sq. ft. of space dedicated to 24-hour cageless dog and cat care. Pets enjoy expansive suites, some with flat screen televisions and 24-hour webcams, and recreational areas complete with bone-shaped swimming pools for dogs, and an adventure jungle for cats. Services such as obedience training, grooming and pet massage therapy complete the experience. Humans enjoy webcam access, onsite parking, complimentary airport shuttle, and 24-hour check-in/check-out every day of the year. For more information, visit www.Paradise4Paws.com, or call (847) 678-1200 for reservations, or (708) 667-7742 for media inquiries.
About Gensler
Gensler is a global design firm grounded in the belief that great design optimizes business performance and human potential. Our 4,500 practitioners networked across 46 offices use global perspective and local presence to innovate at every scale. Whether we are refreshing a retailer’s brand, planning a new urban district or designing a super tall building, we strive to make the everyday places people occupy more inspiring, more resilient and more impactful.
About Holt Construction Corp.
Holt Construction Corp. is a full service construction management and general contracting firm offering an extensive range of services in the New York metropolitan area and beyond. Founded in 1919 by Fred L. Holt, we are now celebrating our 96th year in business with our 3rd and 4th generations of exceptional Holt family leadership. Holt Construction Corp. thrives on its reputation as a quality construction company that maintains its core values and “family” atmosphere above all while providing the best service to our clients in the industry. Integrity, harmony and communication are the true keys to our successful leadership and projects.
About GH2 Gralla Equine Architects
GH2 Gralla Equine Architects is a specialty practice of GH2 Architects, LLC an award winning, international architecture and planning firm with more than 41 years’ experience in creating outstanding design. Founded in 1973 by the original Horseman’s Architect, Stan Gralla, this specialty practice is dedicated to the principles of superior planning, design and customer service. GH2’s passion for horses and commitment to creating their facilities has led to the planning and design of equine and livestock facilities across five continents. Functionality, safety and efficiency are key elements of GH2’s equine and livestock facility master planning and design. GH2’s project experience ranges from Class I racetracks and equine event centers to personal training, breeding, boarding, and recreational facilities, as well as highly technical surgical centers and bio-isolation stables. Recent projects of the firm’s equine practice include the Hong Kong Jockey Club new Thoroughbred Race Training Center and the Bell County Expo Center Expansion in Belton, Texas.
About LIFECARE
LIFECARETM Veterinary Health System is committed to delivering the most advanced and progressive medical procedures performed on dogs and cats anywhere in North America. LIFECARE offers a wide range of specialty veterinary medicine such as emergency, critical care, internal medicine, surgery, cardiology, dermatology & allergy, oncology, neurology, ophthalmology, dentistry and oral surgery, integrative medicine, and more. LIFECARE advances and pioneers new technologies, procedures and best practices through a knowledge-sharing collaboration and exchange of veterinary specialists. Contact: John Payne, john.payne@vsnallc.net.
About Build NYC
The Build NYC Resource Corporation (Build NYC) is a conduit bond issuer administered by NYCEDC and assists qualified not-for-profit institutions and other entities in obtaining tax-exempt and taxable bond financing. To request information on Build NYC, call (212) 312-3600 or e-mail info@nycedc.com.
About The Union Labor Life Insurance Co., Real Estate Investment Group
The Real Estate Investment Group (REIG), a division of Union Labor Life, originates, underwrites and manages real estate mortgages. Our success is the result of consistent and disciplined underwriting, conservative loan structuring, strong portfolio diversification and risk management practices. ULLICO's goal is to provide competitive fixed and floating rate construction and permanent loans for high quality real estate. REIG is headquartered in Silver Spring, MD and has regional offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The 19 member professional team manages over $2.6 billion in commercial mortgages.
About Westport Capital Partners LLC
Westport Capital Partners LLC is a real estate investment firm specializing in the opportunistic real estate arena. Westport provides domestic and international investment opportunities to institutional and private clients. Through its various funds, the firm invests in a wide variety of distressed and opportunistic real estate assets. The firm has offices in Wilton, CT, Los Angeles, CA and London, England. For more information regarding Westport Capital Partners LLC, please visit http://www.westportcp.com/.
Source: ARK Development, LLC