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 facility will be the first 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 new facility will be constructed at the current site of Cargo Building 78 at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, with 14.4 acres of surrounding ground area, which includes airside access to the taxiway and large aircraft ramp parking. It will be divided into three 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