Officials unveil rehab of city's welcome mat.

The ribbon was officially cut on John F. Kennedy International Airport's new $1.4 billion terminal last week with a ceremony that featured the opening of 1954 time capsule and the swearing in of 18 new American citizens.

"Just look around this magnificent space. Isn't it awesome?" said Eric Eichler, chairman of LCOR, one of the developers of the project.

Hundreds of civic officials, industry representatives and others attended the grand ceremony for the 1.5 million SF Terminal 4 that sits on 165 acres in Queens. It is being hailed as the centerpiece of the airport's $10.3 billion restoration, and an important boost in JFK's reputation as the "Gateway to America."

Eichler said the project required 27 acres of glass, 1,900 tons of steel, 225,000 cubic feet of concrete and five million construction hours. He hailed privatization as the "instrumental force" behind the project.

"This is the most viable of public- private partnerships," Eichler said.

The project was done by JFK International Air Terminal LLC, a private consortium consisting of Schiphol USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Schiphol Group and operator of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands; LCOR, Inc.; and Lehman Brothers Inc. JFK JAT was selected by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which operates the airport. Architects and engineers on the project were TAMS Consultants Inc., Skidmore, Ownings & Merrill LLP and Arup Engineers.

"Terminal 4 is an example of international cooperation at its finest," said Peter Verboom, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Schiphol Group. "This magnificent new facility and the Amsterdam airport were both designed with the passenger in mind."

The new terminal has separate levels for departures and arrivals, a 100,000 SF retail concourse and a station for AirTrain, an eight-mile long, light-rail system that will link JFK's central terminal area with Long Island Rail Road and the city's subway system beginning in 2002.

On the departure level is a check-in hall with eight counters for a total of 144 check-in positions. The arrivals hall has 52 Immigration & Naturalization Service and 20 U.S. Customs positions, seven baggage carousels each capable of handling two 747 loads of baggage at once, and two conveyors for skis, golf clubs and similar items. Aircraft gates, several of which can handle aircraft as large as the new 555-passenger Airbus 380, will be increased from 10 to 16 when demolition of the old building is finished in early 2002.

Designed as the only 24-hour terminal at JFK, Terminal 4 can process up to 3,200 arriving passengers per hour, compared with a design capacity of 2,000 in the old facility. Actual passenger volume in 2000 was 6 million, out of about 33 million passengers using all JFK facilities.

The retail hall is 850 feet, or as long as four blocks of Fifth Avenue. It is anchored by DFS, the international operator of airport duty-free shops, and by the SSP division of Restaurant Associates. Among shops in the 100,000 SF retail area include Britain's W.H. Smith booksellers, First Union/Travelex business centers, H. Stern jewelers, I Santi luggage and Accommodation Plus information/hotel reservations.

"This dramatic new terminal is a hallmark for JFK and for international facilities around the world," said David Sigman, development general manager for JFK IAT. "We are setting a trend, creating an efficient common-use facility which also is a place that people will look forward to visiting."

The terminal features one of the largest airport displays of privately funded artworks. In the international arrivals area are works by the team of Diller + Scofldio, the sculptor Harry Roseman, and the sculptor Deborah Masters. These new works will join Alexander Calder's flight mobile, which was installed in the old facility, and a reproduction of the ceramic mural created by Arshile Gorky for the old Newark Airport in Terminal 4's central terminal building.

During the ceremony 18 people - who had first entered the country through the International Arrivals Building, which the new Terminal 4 replaced -- were naturalized as United States Citizens by an INS official. Also during the ceremony a time capsule, which was buried by former Governor Thomas Dewey during a groundbreakng ceremony in 1954 for the old terminal, was opened. A new 2001 time capsule with a cell phone, bar-code baggage tag, 2000 "Subway Series" video, a copy of the book "From Ellis Island to JFK," and a copy of the New York Times, will be placed in the wall of the new terminal.

"Kennedy Airport's newest and grandest passenger terminal recaptures the glory days of JFK," said Governor George Pataki, in a released statement. "It also goes a long way toward restoring Kennedy Airport to its proper status as New York's world-class international gateway."

The projected $1.6 billion phase two of the project is scheduled for May 2001 through 2005 and includes a planned expansion for Delta Air Lines. Delta has proposed to move its JFK international hub to Terminal 4, with new gates and check-in positions that could double the size of the existing terminal. The Delta project, if approved by the Port Authority, the city and private parties, is scheduled to be completed in mid 2005.

Port Authority executive director Neil Levin said the JFK redevelopment is believed to be the largest airport reconstruction program in U.S. history. Among highlights are Port Authority's $1.9 billion AirTrain light-rail system, American Airline's $1.4 billion expansion of Terminals 8 and 9, the Port Authority and United Airlines $1.2 billion redevelopment of Terminals 5 and 6, and British Airways and the Port Authority's $260 million Terminal 7 expansion.

"Terminal 4 is one of the key elements of the reconstruction project, which will see every terminal at the airport replaced or significantly modernized and expanded," Levin said. "This new terminal is one more sign that JFK is being reborn. We are proud to welcome airport travelers to the future."