Sam Chang / McSam Hotels

[lofter1]

It seems it's time to do just this ...



I think we should start a thread on just the McSam / Chang garbage.


One of Chang's suppliers / sub-contractors -- EMC Contracting ( as noted in this article (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=108031&postcount=66) from the Village Voice posted in the Remy Condo Thread and re-printed below) -- is now under investigation regarding unfair labor practices ...

Goshen company's labor practices investigated

Times Herald-Record (http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061226/NEWS/612260314/-1/NEWS14)
By Raja Abdulrahim
December 26, 2006

Goshen — The new co-owner of the former Owen Murphy Inn building is under investigation by the state Attorney General's Office for unpaid wages and overtime of former employees.

A spokesman from the New York State Department of Labor said it had received complaints regarding Michael Mahoney and his company, EMC Contracting, and referred them to the Attorney General's Office which is now conducting an investigation. The Attorney General's Office would not confirm or deny the investigation.

The former Irish pub, restaurant and banquet hall on Route 17M has been vacant for two years. When Mahoney and his business partner John Whyte bought the place in March for $1.4 million, they said they planned to keep it an Irish pub and restaurant and hoped to open by this past November.

Not much work has been done on the building, which has large areas of exposed wood and brick. Chunks of stucco lies in piles on the ground. The banquet hall — which once hosted weddings and parties — now reads "Exquisite Baqets" in brown wood letters. The "U" lies in the bushes underneath. It's not clear where the "N" is located.

The investigation into the company began after a New York City carpenter's union took a closer look at Mahoney and his company, based in Belleville, N.J., in April because they were using nonunion labor. At the time EMC was working on several construction projects in the city.

Andres Puerta, union representative for the New York District Council of Carpenters, claims Mahoney's employees are largely undocumented and work in unsafe conditions. Fourteen of his former employees have already filed for unpaid wages with the Labor Department, Puerta said.

Mahoney did not return repeated calls for comment.

It's not clear what this means for the Owen Murphy building, which appears to have been at least partially gutted. The Goshen building inspector said the partners were at one point supposed to appear before the Planning Board but canceled.

It doesn't seem like good news for the building, which has already been through several reincarnations. Originally a farmhouse, the banquet hall was attached in the 1970s. It became La Neve's, a French restaurant, followed by another journey into that cuisine as La Masquerade, which closed in 1998. It then became the Owen Murphy Inn.

(C) Orange County Publications

[lofter1]

Some of the Chang / McSam Hotel Group projects:

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4762/mcsamshw9.jpg

[lofter1]

The article on Chang / McSam / EMC from the Village Voice ...

Labor War in Chelsea

For the first time, non-union immigrants are building Manhattan's high-rise towers

Village Voice (http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0619,robbins,73148,5.html)
by Tom Robbins
May 9th, 2006

There's a nasty little chapter in the national immigration debate playing out along the side streets in the West Twenties in Manhattan these days ...

The buildings now rising in this corner of the old garment district in Chelsea appear to be the largest non-union developments yet. On West 26th, West 28th, and West 29th streets, a trio of soaring 24-story towers is being constructed by a Queens-based developer named Sam Chang, who has carved out a local niche as a builder of moderately priced hotels. Chang's McSam LLC, city records show, has spent more than $100 million in the past 18 months to acquire these and other development sites around the city. The three multimillion-dollar projects on the West Side (one is expected to be a Hampton Inn) are aimed at out-of-town businesspeople and budget-minded tourists.

To build them, Chang turned to a non-union general contractor named Tritel Construction, which in turn subcontracted much of the work to a firm based in upstate Pearl River called EMC Contracting. EMC, records show, only recently shifted from building one- and two-family homes to constructing multi-story projects.

The key ingredient that makes such projects feasible is an abundance of cheap immigrant labor, and that's what's building the three towers on the West Side. Without a union card in their pockets, or much else in the way of either job-training certification or documentation, immigrant workers are constructing wooden frames, bending steel bars, and pouring concrete. They can be seen shinnying up newly poured concrete columns, most of them without the safety belts required by federal safety and health regulations.

In addition to the job hazards, their pay, according to union organizers and workers who agreed to talk about their employment under a guarantee of anonymity, is less than half the roughly $40-an-hour-plus-benefits package that a union carpenter or laborer would receive.

The immigrants say they are also being treated to a curious two-tier wage system under which young Irish men on the job are being paid $20 to $25 an hour, while Brazilians—bused in daily from Newark's Ironbound section—are paid less, between $15 to $20 an hour.

In mid April, members of the carpenters' and laborers' unions began picketing the sites and trying to talk to the workers about job conditions. They've sprinkled the projects with flyers urging workers to contact the union. "Union carpenters get what they're worth! Do you?" reads a flyer detailing the health, pension, training, and job placement benefits for union members. To reach the workers, organizers have waited on street corners in the early morning to snag workers on their way to the job sites, and even tossed the flyers from adjoining buildings onto the projects.

http://www.thelaborers.net/carpenters/robbins1.jpg
Photo: Giuletta Verdon-Roe
Carpenters' union organizer Tommy Costello:
"Our fight's not with the workers."

Contractors have responded by beefing up security with private guards. They have also hired retired police detectives for protection, and according to union organizers, off-duty cops as well.

Twice so far, tensions on the blocks have spilled over into brawls. On April 21, a fracas broke out after union members allegedly blocked the path of a truck delivering supplies to the West 26th Street site. According to the union, plainclothes security guards tumbled out from behind the gates of the job site wielding long blackjacks. When police arrived on the scene and began grabbing at security guards and union members alike, one guard allegedly yelled, "Stop, I'm a cop," while holding up a shield. Police eventually arrested five men, all of them members of carpenters' union Local 608, who were charged with resisting arrest and inciting to riot.

A week later, on April 28, another fight broke out on West 28th Street after someone tossed a smoke bomb at the work site. In the melee that followed, a union member, Anthony Mercado, was sliced on the back of the head with a utility knife, a wound that left a long, ugly gash that took several staples to close. Police initially arrested a 28-year-old Irish immigrant worker named Mark Wynne, who gave an address in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx. But Wynne was later released after he was not identified in a lineup.

Tensions at the sites were ramped up even more when concrete trucks making deliveries from a Brooklyn plant were accompanied by carloads of young black men, several of whom allegedly flashed guns at the union pickets, most of whom are white. "I'm gonna put a cap in your ass," one of the men allegedly threatened an organizer.

All of the incidents at the job sites are currently being investigated by the labor racketeering unit of the office of Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Sam Chang, the projects' developer, failed to return several calls to his office in Floral Park. A secretary suggested that he might respond to an e-mail message, but those also went unanswered. Also playing nonspeaking roles in the drama were Jimmy Wu, owner of the contracting firm Tritel, and Michael Mahoney of EMC, both of whom did not respond to messages.

Union organizers are careful to emphasize that their beef is with the employers, not the workers.

"What they've got going here is an underground economy," said Tom Costello of the New York District Council of Carpenters, who has been monitoring the West Side non-union sites. "There's no taxes being paid, there's no workers' compensation, no health protections."

Costello's father was a carpenter who emigrated from Ireland and found work through the union after his arrival. A carpenter for more than 30 years, Costello has worked as a foreman on major construction projects, and also as an instructor in the union's apprentice training program. He said he had watched in amazement at the risks being taken by the non-union workers as the building has taken shape. "You're sending a kid from São Paolo, Brazil, and another from County Donegal, and neither one of them has ever worked on more than a two- or three-story job, and making them a high-rise construction worker. It's not that easy," he said.

He said that standard procedures for testing the strength of the concrete and the durability of the steel reinforcement bars were not being conducted. "Someone's going to get hurt on the job," he said, "and the public should also be worried."

Another union organizer, Andres Puerta, whose family came from Ecuador, said that he had persuaded several individual workers to sign up with the union. "They talk about how scared they are," said Puerta. "They're scared of being hurt at work, and they're scared of losing the job. Most of them are sending money to family members at home."

The union organizers said that most of the young immigrants had brushed off suggestions that they needed health insurance in case of illness or injury. "They think, 'What do I need that for?' " said Costello. "Most of these guys are making $25 an hour cash, and they are putting in 60 hours a week. So maybe they're making $1,500 a week, not paying any taxes. They see it as the best deal of their lives."

John Greaney, the president of the carpenters' Local 608, which has 7,500 members and whose jurisdiction covers Manhattan's West Side, said the union was trying to appeal to both employers and workers alike. "Our fight is not with the workers," said Greaney. "We welcome them. We are not going to do the job of the government. We are not INS agents. What we're up against here is the corporate greed of these developers and construction companies."

Whatever their motivation, non-union contractors are clearly taking up a bigger share of construction work. Nationally, according to research by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, unions' share of the construction industry has plummeted from a high of 80 percent in the years right after World War II to less than 18 percent today. Even in New York State, traditionally union-strong territory, organized labor's share slipped below 50 percent for the first time in the 1990s and is believed to be even less currently.

The notion that organized labor will be able to forever hold on to big-ticket projects has been nourished by giant, government-backed developments like the pending new Freedom Tower in Lower Manhattan and the new stadiums slated for Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. In each of those cases, labor used its political muscle to help win approvals. But while labor was focusing on those mega-projects, private developers of non-union ventures like the new high-rises in the West Twenties have slipped into town.

"There's been a false sense of security," said one union labor analyst. "There's a creep factor that started in the South and the Southwest, and eventually hit upstate and the outer boroughs. Now it's right in Manhattan."

Copyright © 2006 Village Voice LLC

[lofter1]

And wouldn't it be interesting if a cement manufacturing facility in Brooklyn -- FSC Concrete aka Brooklyn Ready Mix Corporation --across from 184 Kent (the old Austin Nichols Warehouse (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/11/13/see_ya_austin_nichols_the_new_look_at_184_kent.php )-soon-to-be-revised-building by Arquitectonica (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/11/13/see_ya_austin_nichols_the_new_look_at_184_kent.php )) were to have a connection to one of the principals of Chang's sub-contractor EMC Contracting ...

Cement Shoes: 184 Kent Getting Another New Neighbor?

curbed.com (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/01/12/cement_shoes_184_kent_getting_another_new_neighbor .php#more)
Friday, January 12, 2007
by Robert

http://www.curbed.com/2007_01_Concrete%20184.jpg
Looks like 184 Kent (and Northside Piers) will be getting a new neighbor across the street on Kent Avenue. The Brooklyn Ready Mix plant -- source of many dramatic clouds of dust and the reason the area around N. 4th street always looks like a concrete mixer flipped over -- is getting cement shoes. A neighbor says:
You'd think their business would be off the hook with all the pouring in the neighborhood, right? Apparently the lot is worth more than the business. I love the intermingling of industry and residential down here, but that place makes so much dust and dirt, and their runoff gets all over the cars and clogs the storm sewers. I'm sure I've breathed a bushel of concrete dust in two years. I'm happy to see them go. But the way they're going about it - with all the trucks still on the lot, no fence, etc. is bizarre.Something else interesting here ...

DOB Records show that an ECB (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/ECBQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=5&ecbin=34144095X) Complaint regarding 175-185 Kent was investigated way back in 1998:
ILLEGAL OCCUPANCY AS CONCRETE PROCESSING PLANT. B03 27-217 OCCUPANCY CONTRARY TO THAT ALLOWED BY THE C OF O BLDG DEPSEE COMPL- VIOL. ISSUED FOR NO C/O CONCRETE PROCESSING UG 18C/O FOR JUNK YARD UG. 16-17That ^^^ DOB record also shows that the Complaint was "RESOLVED (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/ECBQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=5&ecbin=34144095X)" ...

Hmmmm ... I wonder how the concrete guys managed that, when the ONLY existing C/O is from 1992 (http://a810-cofo.nyc.gov/cofo/B/000/238000/B000238980.PDF) -- and the uses at 175 - 185 Kent Avenue are shown as "Community Center / Credit Union" :confused: :confused: :confused:

Dunno ... Maybe they knew somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody ....

[ablarc]

^ It's done with paper bags.

[therat84]

Does anyone know what is going on with Changs Canal Street Site? Is it still on stop work order?

[lofter1]

A NEW "STOP WORK ORDER" was issued at the McSam site at 370 Canal on 4.24, for failure to pump water out of the site ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/Tribeca/370Canal_10a.jpg

Meanwhile the Chang Hotels on West 39th (between 8th / 9th Avenues) are seeing progress ...

305 W. 39th (just west of 8th Avenue -- learning the lesson of not sticking out):

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/305W39_10b.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/305W39_10a.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/305W39_10c.jpg

At the west end of that 39th Street block the McSam-O-Rama Package of multiple hotels has risen to ~ 9 stories:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/W39_McSam_06a.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/W39_McSam_06b.jpg

The Lam double-hotel project on West 40th (seen above ^^^ in the background) has risen to ~ 25 stories ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/W40_Lam_05a.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/W40_Lam_05b.jpg

[sfenn1117]

That Comfort Inn is really a depressing bunker.

How long til that little building (335 west 39th) succombs to mcsam? Or the little building at 307? In time the junk on 8th will be sold off too.

You know what, let it happen, I'd rather as many as these Mcsam's as possible be confined to one block

[antinimby]

In time the junk on 8th will be sold off too.McSams are themselves junk except that they tend to be taller than the other junks, which actually makes them even worst.

[lofter1]

The McSam-O-Rama on W. 39th (just east of 9th Avenue) is now up to ~ 17 stories ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/W39_McSam_7a.jpg

And butting up against it from behind on W. 40th are the twin Lam hotel projects -- they're now up to about 30 stories ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/W40_Lam_06a.jpg

You can see the different infill treatment -- so, while the structures are essentially the same, the facades won't be all matchy-matchy ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/W40_Lam_06b.jpg

[Fabrizio]

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/305W39_10c.jpg






Pyongyang North Korea :

[fioco]

Dang! Why did he add those two thin strips of windows? It ruins the aesthetic -- it coulda been a pure form. (If I may add a small addition to one of the famous utterances of London Lawyer): it could have been a PPOS!

[krulltime]

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/McSam%2039/305W39_10c.jpg


http://tiny.abstractdynamics.org/archives/vomiting.jpg

[BrooklynRider]

Can we just use this thread to rant and purge our systems of this insidious disease?

[pianoman11686]

Strike 3 for McSam at 370 Canal Hotel Site

Tuesday, May 29, 2007, by ROK88

http://www.curbed.com/2007_05_Strike3Chang1a.JPG

Crazed developer Sam Chang and his McSam gang can't stop rattling their new neighbors down on Canal Street. The Department of Buildings has now slapped the wants-to-be-a 360 Room Sheraton Hotel site with its third stop-work order since work began a few months back. Maybe Sam is just trying to juggle too many projects.

http://www.curbed.com/2007_05_Strike3Chang5a.JPG
[The McSam/Sheraton Hotel site at 370 Canal Street]

The stop-work order claims that the shoring at the McSam site "collapsed inside excavation, endanger adj property / shanty." Given the looks of the endangered adjacent property, maybe Sam should be given an award if that yellow awning and its accompanying shanty were to come crashing down.

http://www.curbed.com/2007_05_Strike3Chang2a.JPG

http://www.curbed.com/2007_05_Strike3Chang3b.JPG

Curbed (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/05/29/strike_3_for_mcsam_at_370_canal_hotel_site.php#mor e)

[sfenn1117]

6/30

Finishing up 305
http://i19.tinypic.com/6ewt0ms.jpg

Starting to add bricks to the triplet hotels.
http://i18.tinypic.com/6h6ddv5.jpg

http://i8.tinypic.com/4uddpc9.jpg

I didn't even want to walk around the other block to see the hotels on west 40th.

[lofter1]

McSam's new hotel project with demolition at 585 Eighth (aka 306 W. 39th) COLLAPSED during construction on the morning of Friday 6.30.oy, injuring workers there ...

WNBC (http://video.wnbc.com/player/?id=124834#videoid=124834)

http://video.wnbc.com/player/mezzanine/image.php?w=81&h=45&path=wnbc/64_60CA68D2_5926D_C11AC_C4000_3BA864ADF_mezzn.jpg&hash=e76deb6a986650663f9303cc5d5310af&default=http://video.nbcuni.com/wnbc/thumb/64_60CA68D2_5926D_C11AC_C4000_3BA864ADF_large.jpg

Midtown Chimney Collapses

Vivian Lee Reports

The chimney of a midtown building collapses resulting in minor injuries ...

From CURBED (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/06/29/curbedwire_8uss_reveals_itself_cats_are_ok_purrr.p hp):

HELL'S KITCHEN—Finally, comes this news of a partial building collapse from the west '30s: "check out 2-sty renovation mid block west side of 8th ave bet w 38 and w39. chimney collapsed on workers after they took supports out. 8th ave roped off"
[CurbedWire Inbox]

[lofter1]

Will Sam Chang and his McSam gang beat out Scarano for the most STOP WORK ORDERS from DOB?

Another one for Chang at 585 Eighth (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?boro=1&houseno=585&street=eighth+avenue&requestid=0&s=A03C41B885B461E4F46BD08866A7430E) ...

STOP WORK ORDER EXISTS ON THIS PROPERTY (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/ComplaintsByAddressServlet?requestid=1&allbin=1013645&fillerdata=A)

DEBRIS / BUILDING - FALLING OR IN DANGER OF FALLING

UNSAFE DEMOLITION OPERATIONS IN PROCESS, MISSING GUARDRAILS, CHIMNEY COLLAPSED

[ablarc]

http://i19.tinypic.com/6ewt0ms.jpg

They should grow ivy on those flanking walls.

[lofter1]

But wouldn't that ^^^ get in the way of the garbage containers they'll be stacking along there :confused:

[BrooklynRider]

Considering the Gene Kaufman aesthetic, plastic ivy affixed to disheveled lattice work coated with peeling white paint would be very apropos.

[ablarc]

^ Low maintenance.

[lofter1]

The red thing at the right (it appears to be a generator of sorts) is permanently affixed out front -- they're erecting a steel frame for a little "fence" around it (more ivy on that, too?).

On the other side of the entry structure is a steep stairway that is cut into the concrete of the entry "plaza". Perhaps that will get its own little pergola (and we can ivy that, as well :p ).

Often these Poon / Kaufman sliver hotels have ground-level windows on either side of the entry way looking out to the plaza-ette and the street beyond. But here Poon gives us blank walls.

That is going to be one dreary little lobby in there :eek: .

[ablarc]

That is going to be one dreary little lobby in there :eek: .
Solution to that is plenty of fluorescent lights.

[lofter1]

^^^ my eyes is screamin' :eek: :eek: :eek:

[kitten]

Chang is also planning to build a hotel on the corner of Rector and Washington streets, where there is currently an empty parking deck...

[lofter1]

The Kaufman / Chang mess at 119 W 28th is nearly ready for unsuspecting tourists ...

As you approach from Sixth Avenue along W. 28th the flower district is trying to hold on ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/Chelsea/McSam28_03a.jpg

But Mr. Kaufman seems to think the guests need a slap in the face ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/Chelsea/McSam28_03b.jpg

Just think how crappy that facade will look after a NYC takes a swipe at it ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/Chelsea/McSam28_03c.jpg

[stache]

Well at least he pushed something out to the streetwall -

[lofter1]

And did so using a surface material that no self-respecting tagger / scratcher will be able to avoid :mad:

[NYCDOC]

I can't keep coming to this site everyday and look at these pictures and just sit by and not do anything. So I put together a letter that I think if there is enough support for on this site that I would like to send to each company listed on the chart on the preceding page that is working with the McSam Group. If these companies are discouraged from working with McSam because they first realize that what is happening is unacceptable, but also that a negative public image will be created for them by the efforts of the members of this community who are tired of this nonsense then I think maybe we will have made some contribution to making New York a better place.

So like I said, I put together this draft on behalf of the wirednewyork community. First please let me know if this is something that would be acceptable to send out using the wirednewyork name and please make all corrections/modifications that you can think of.

Dear Sir or Madam,

We are contacting you on behalf of a large number of members at the WiredNewYork.Com community. This group is comprised of people from around the world that are enthusiastic about architecture, real estate, and the preservation of the vitality of New York’s streetscape. In total, the WiredNewYork.Com community currently consists of over 10,000 registered members and about 900 active members.

It has come to our attention that your company is presently working with the McSam Hotel Group in the development of a new hotel at st in Manhattan. Unfortunately, the McSam Hotel Group has repeatedly shown an utter disregard for the New York community by developing buildings which exhibit no regard for the setting in which they are developed. They are of the lowest form of architectural design, employ the lowest grade of construction materials, and often are constructed in a manner that leads to unsafe conditions and ultimately citations by the New York Buildings Department. Although many members of the WiredNewYork.Com community are professional architects and involved in real estate and development, it does not take an the eye of an expert to be offended by the products of McSam’s work.

For the McSam Hotel Group’s buildings to scar the streets of New York is unacceptable. In working with the McSam Hotel Group to develop sites for your hotels in New York, your company is allowing this destruction of New York’s streetscape to occur. As such, we ask that you stop providing a market for the McSam hotels and work with developers who are able to integrate the capacity to create buildings that are suitable to your company’s needs while being respectful of the environment in which they are built.

It is this environment that so many of us care deeply about and for which we are prepared to work to ensure that it is not further damaged by making the broader public aware of your company’s involvement in the destruction of the New York streetscape. We hope that this will not be the case and that you can work with us to continue to develop the streets of New York with the vibrancy for which they have been known for centuries. After all, it is this energy and beauty that draws most of your customers to stay in your hotels in New York.

We invite you to visit the WiredNewYork.Com website and review some of the members’ commentaries on the McSam Hotel Group and we especially look forward to hearing your thoughts and plans going forward.

Sincerely,

The WiredNewYork.Com community

[lofter1]

Count me in ^^^

Although you might want to double check to see if the "McSam Hotel Group" covers all the bases -- Mr. Chang seems to be a wizard at creating unending LLCs.

[antinimby]

Don't forget to mention the Lam Group, too.

No sense telling people to avoid McSams only to have them then choose John Lam's company, which is equally atrocious.

You might also mention something about costs (something to the effect that better designs need not necessarily be much more expensive), since this is a very big reason for McSam's popularity.

[ablarc]

I can't keep coming to this site everyday and look at these pictures and just sit by and not do anything. So I put together a letter that I think if there is enough support for on this site that I would like to send to each company listed on the chart on the preceding page that is working with the McSam Group.
Bravo, NYCDOC! This is exactly what we in this community should be doing more of. Post email address to send letters to.

Maybe Edward could add some kind of feature to the forum that would facilitate mass letter campaigns, so it would get easier for us to throw our weight around.

[lofter1]

Below is how the hotel that Chang / Kaufman are putting up at 66 Charlton in Hudson Square (just west of Varick) will eventually look ...

Despite how it is described by Kaufman (text below) the facade is actually being covered in black brick -- which does have a small amount of reflectivity -- but I wouldn't go so far as to call it "shimmering".

The description from GAK's website (http://www.gkapc.com/):



A shimmering black tower brings a cool presence to the industrial fringes of Soho, capped by an iconic metallic silver crown visible from all directions. The 160 rooms feature expansive windows and trendy furnishing and fixtures. The glass-roofed forecourt provides a unique urban refuge. Rare steel framed construction for this building type was crafted to minimize building weight, avoiding pile foundations, and to benefit from low-cost local labor to reduce construction costs.

[ablarc]

^ What goes on in that "crown"?



Looks like a gadget.

[lofter1]

Why does it have to DO anything when it's ...

an iconic metallic silver crown visible from all directions

:confused: :confused: :confused:

Sufficient that it'll be iconic :p

Not sure you can actually see it "from all directions" if you're at street level.

But here's how it looks from Spring / Varick (where that Trump Condo-Thing (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8466&highlight=trump&page=31) is rising) ...

***

[lofter1]

There's no stopping Mr. McSam ...

Sam Chang Buys Whitehouse Hotel for $7.8 M.

NY OBSERVER (http://www.observer.com/2007/sam-chang-shells-out-7-8m-whitehouse-hotel)
by Mark Wellborn
July 10, 2007

Can anyone in the New York City hotel business keep up with Sam Chang?
On June 11, the prolific hotelier purchased the Whitehouse Hotel at 338 Bowery for $7.8 million, according to city records.

However, unlike a number of properties that Mr. Chang has purchased, he has no immediate plans to change anything about the hotel.

“At this time, I have no plans to develop anything on the property,” Mr. Chang told The Observer. “I think that eventually we will build something, but as for now, nothing will change.”

Mr. Chang is building hotels in the city at a blistering pace. He currently has 4,000 rooms and 20 hotels under construction in the city, according to The New York Post (http://www.nypost.com/seven/05012007/business/hotel_kings_latest_business_steve_cuozzo.htm). On one block of 39th Street alone, he is building six new hotels that will range in height from 20 to 40 stories.

While Mr. Chang noted that there were no immediate plans for 338 Bowery, the location of the buy certainly raises eyebrows.

The three-story Whitehouse Hotel, known for its $30 room rates and international back-packing clientele, sits directly across the street from the recently opened Bowery Hotel.

Built by Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson of Maritime Hotel fame, the Bowery Hotel opened in February 2007 and made headlines largely because it was the first luxury hotel to open on the Bowery.

So, when Mr. Chang does decide to develop, will it be a trendy new tower to compete with its neighbor, or will the hotel mogul keep the Whitehouse Hotel prices and just give it a quick facelift?

Stay tuned.

Copyright © 2007 The New York Observer

[ZippyTheChimp]

Sam Chang Buys Whitehouse Hotel for $7.8 M.

by Mark Wellborn Published: July 10, 2007

Can anyone in the New York City hotel business keep up with Sam Chang?

On June 11, the prolific hotelier purchased the Whitehouse Hotel at 338 Bowery for $7.8 million, according to city records.

However, unlike a number of properties that Mr. Chang has purchased, he has no immediate plans to change anything about the hotel.

“At this time, I have no plans to develop anything on the property,” Mr. Chang told The Observer. “I think that eventually we will build something, but as for now, nothing will change.”

Mr. Chang is building hotels in the city at a blistering pace. He currently has 4,000 rooms and 20 hotels under construction in the city, according to The New York Post. On one block of 39th Street alone, he is building six new hotels that will range in height from 20 to 40 stories.

While Mr. Chang noted that there were no immediate plans for 338 Bowery, the location of the buy certainly raises eyebrows.

The three-story Whitehouse Hotel, known for its $30 room rates and international back-packing clientele, sits directly across the street from the recently opened Bowery Hotel.

Built by Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson of Maritime Hotel fame, the Bowery Hotel opened in February 2007 and made headlines largely because it was the first luxury hotel to open on the Bowery.

So, when Mr. Chang does decide to develop, will it be a trendy new tower to compete with its neighbor, or will the hotel mogul keep the Whitehouse Hotel prices and just give it a quick facelift?

Stay tuned.
http://www.observer.com/2007/sam-chang-shells-out-7-8m-whitehouse-hotel

Copyright © 2007 The New York Observer. All rights reserved.

[Peteynyc1]

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/11/downtown_towerwatch_mr_gehry_meet_mr_mcsam.php#mor e (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/11/downtown_towerwatch_mr_gehry_meet_mr_mcsam.php#mor e)

Downtown TowerWatch: Mr. Gehry, Meet Mr. McSam

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, by ROK88
http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_McSamBeekman1.JPG
We've been waiting forever for the latest renderings (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/05/04/beekman_tower_update_secret_gehry_design_still_sec ret.php) of the Frank Gehry/Bruce Ratner mega-super-duper-deluxe residential tower set to rise down on Beekman and William Streets near City Hall. Now comes word that hotelier extraordinaire (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/05/01/sam_changs_city_takeover_continues_unabated.php) Sam Chang of the McSam Hotel Group has enlisted his buddy, Architect Gene Kaufman, to design what is being touted as a 4-Star hotel with OUTSIDE ELEVATORS. It will rise on what is now a nasty parking lot at 33 Beekman Street, just to the south of where Gehry's gang has been driving piles for months now.
http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_McSamBeekman2.JPG
http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_McSamBeekman3.JPG
While Mr. Gehry's 76-story tower teases us with undulous wonderment, Mr. Chang, according to Mr. Kaufman's website (http://www.gkapc.com/), has responded with something entirely different. Which is not exactly surprising given Mr. Chang's particular design sensibilities (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/03/mcsam_not_making_many_mcfans_with_this_one.php) and Mr. Kaufman's various buildings around town (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/10/18/scary_interesting_williamsburg_renderings.php).. This latest McSam is set to rise 26-stories. And as one can see it's RED. And YELLOW. And has a white-striped-ziggy-zaggy thing up the front. Very POP. Very PEZ. Quite the vision for residents of Gehry's super-luxe condos going up across the street. Kaufman's excuse for this new vision seems to be "a complicated legal interrelationship with the adjacent loft building involving air rights and multiple easements." One might wonder if something else altogether is going on here.
http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_McSamBeekman6.JPG
{The site for the planned 26-story McSam Hotel, across from Gehry's tower}
http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_McSamBeekman4.JPG
[Core tests were taken at 33 Beekman this past March]
http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_McSamBeekman5.JPG

[stache]

We can thank our Mayor for allowing this kind of thing to happen.

[Peteynyc1]

This one is even sporting the McSam / McDonalds colors!!

[lofter1]

Has anyone ever been arrested for Architectural Extortion?

[ASchwarz]

You can laugh all you want, but Chang is doing more for the city than just about anyone. Thousands of hotel rooms will deliver huge tourist and business revenue to the city and its businesses and dozens of crappy parking lots will be removed.

I support Chang 1000% and only hope he can continue his aggressive expansion.

As for the colors at 33 Beekman, it's obviously a bad rendering. It's pretty obvious the final design won't look anything like that.

[lofter1]

If you look a Kaufman's website you'll see that the renderings of his buildings whcih have been built look almost exactly like the buildnigs once completed.

There is no reason that what is good for business has to be so butt fugly -- which is true in almost every case of the Chang / Kaufman partnership.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Who's laughing?

[lofter1]

You can laugh all you want ...

ZippyTheChimp >> Who's laughing

Chang ^^^ for one


:cool:

[GreenwichBoy]

McSam Hotel Group Adds Los Angeles’ Holiday Inn LAX To Portfolio
Friday, July 13, 2007-11:55:34 AM


LOS ANGELES— McSam Hotel Group, LLC has acquired, for an undisclosed amount, the Holiday Inn Los Angeles International Airport hotel from LAX Airport Hospitality, LLC. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels represented the seller in the transaction. The 405-room hotel is located just east of Los Angeles International Airport and features 4,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and a full-service restaurant and lounge.


From: Hotelbusiness.com

[stache]

Definitely spread the love to the West Coast. please!

[ASchwarz]

No, keep it here, Sam. We need more rooms, and Chang's the man when it comes to getting things done.

[Fabrizio]

"Chang's The Man" :

http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/04/comfort_inn_to.php

[lofter1]

How old is Chang?

Anyone know of his life expectancy?

[londonlawyer]

Sam, the Creep, Chang and Nutso Kaufman finally spare a nice, old building. It would have been nice if these jerks spared the little jewel on Trinity Street.

http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_4thAveMcSam1.JPG

[Fabrizio]

I guess it's cause for celebration even though the final result looks like a prison ward in Coney Island. Are those bottom floors boarded up?

Hilarious the way these idiots even save on renderings.

[Fabrizio]

More Sam's the Man Chang:


http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/19/more_mcsamming_down_at_50_trinity_place.php#more

[ZippyTheChimp]

This thread is nauseating.

[lofter1]

The thrills just keep on coming ...

McSam-O-Rama Mania in Midtown West

Monday, July 23, 2007, by ROK88
curbed (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/23/mcsamorama_mania_in_midtown_west.php)

http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_W40McSam1.JPG
[McSammers doing test drilling at 308 West 40th Street]

The man with some of the deepest pockets this side of Taipei, hotelier Sam Chang (htthttp://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/19/more_mcsamming_down_at_50_trinity_place.phpp://) of the colorful (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/11/downtown_towerwatch_mr_gehry_meet_mr_mcsam.php) McSam Hotel dynasty, has recently grabbed yet another development spot on what must now be the hoteliest block in town (httphttp://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/05/01/sam_changs_city_takeover_continues_unabated.php://). 308 West 40th Street, a funky brick thing amidst a string of old-timey Times Square peep-o-ramas, now belongs to Chang and partners, registered under the name "RS 308 W 40, LLC". If all goes according to plan they will soon be bringing another batch of beds to booming Times Square. This latest McSam site is technically part of the Hudson Yards (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/23/http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/07/07/half_a_billion_for_the_west_side_seat_of_controver sy.php//) Special District, and under the applicable zoning regulations they can build higher there IF they "contribute" to the HYD Improvement Fund. And so Chang and friends have done just that. To the tune of $2 Million Bucks!!!

http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_W40McSam2a.JPG
[Hotels projects under development along W. 39th & W. 40th Streets]

For that chump change the Chang gang will get to build an additional 20,000 square feet of prime area guest rooms. Chang has six other hotel projects underway one street over on West 39th. No design awards (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/02/20/dryvit_abounds_over_eighth_avenue.php) there. And not problem-free (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/06/29/curbedwire_8uss_reveals_itself_cats_are_ok_purrr.p hp), either. But LOTS of beds. No word yet on who Chang will choose as the architect for this latest addition to his empire. But bets are that the list is short (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/18/mcsam_goes_all_sedate_south_of_union_square.php). John Lam, a rival hotel deal-maker, has twin hotel projects rising at the west end of this same 40th Street block. And right next door to the Lam site two additional hotel plots are now being cleared for development. Which brings the total of new hotels in this one little area to ELEVEN. Chances are it won't be too long before someone makes that an even dozen. We can't wait for all these new hotels to open and for price wars to break out. Now THAT might offer visitors to NYC some affordable places to stay.

http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_W40McSam4b.JPG
[NYC Department of Finance documents with some details of the deal]

http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_W40McSam7.JPG

http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_W40McSam4a.JPG

http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_W40McSam3.JPG
[Next door to the new McSam site someone is looking to make a deal]

· More McSamming Down at 50 Trinity Place (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/19/more_mcsamming_down_at_50_trinity_place.php) [Curbed]
· Downtown TowerWatch: Mr. Gehry, Meet Mr. McSam (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/11/downtown_towerwatch_mr_gehry_meet_mr_mcsam.php) [Curbed]
· Sam Chang's City Takeover Continues Unabated (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/05/01/sam_changs_city_takeover_continues_unabated.php) [Curbed]
· Half a Billion for the West Side Seat of Controversy (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/07/07/half_a_billion_for_the_west_side_seat_of_controver sy.php) [Source]
· Dryvit Abounds Over Eighth Avenue (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/02/20/dryvit_abounds_over_eighth_avenue.php) [Curbed]
· CurbedWire: 8USS Reveals Itself, Cats are OK - Purrr (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/06/29/curbedwire_8uss_reveals_itself_cats_are_ok_purrr.p hp)[Curbed]
· McSam Goes All Sedate South of Union Square (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/07/18/mcsam_goes_all_sedate_south_of_union_square.php) [Curbed]

[kitten]

so..I'm trying to understand the DOF doc- Mc Sam is borrowing $3,737,500.00 for a mortgage? If so, how much would the building actually be selling for and what kind of structure is it?

[lofter1]

If you go to www.nyc.gov (http://www.nyc.gov) then the Finance page, you can do a Property Search in ACRIS by entering the Block / Lot number ( 763 / 42 for this building). Then the whole list of docs for this building will show up.

For purchase price you might want to rifle through those files (most recent deeds, agreements, etc).

Please report back what you find out :cool:

[kitten]

thanks! last time i tried ACRIS a few weeks ago it was down, but i'll try again and let you know!

[sfenn1117]

He might go for the adjacent parking lot to make a bigger plot....or the building next door begging for a buyer.

As much as we hate Kaufman and Poon for designing these, 11 hotels is extraordinary, and better than the parking lots and porn shops previously on the block.

Let's just stay away from these streets forever, and leave them to the midwestern tourists.

[lofter1]

I did some digging around and it appears that the parking lot at 310 - 312 W 40 is not part of any parcel (Chang or otherwise). No DOF activity there for years.

[kitten]

I can't seem to get any info @ ACRIS, possibly a problem w/ their server? I know I'm having no problems with my internet, even DOB site... Anyone else having an issue?

[stache]

I'm very busy swilling cocktails here...

[lofter1]

ACRIS is a Java thing ...

What that means I've no clue (but you might want to check your latest Java up-date).

[shing]

5.75 mil

[Peteynyc1]

He might go for the adjacent parking lot to make a bigger plot....or the building next door begging for a buyer.

As much as we hate Kaufman and Poon for designing these, 11 hotels is extraordinary, and better than the parking lots and porn shops previously on the block.

Let's just stay away from these streets forever, and leave them to the midwestern tourists.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/ClayLeoAdamYoung/poon-DSCN7618.jpg

[lofter1]

That guy ^^^ has got to get himself a chain ...

Imagine signs like those all across America :cool:

[scumonkey]

still going up- view from 38th
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/upup.jpg
twin vomit! view from 9th ave
(look at the windowless wall- so he can squeeze in another POS right next door!)
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/twinVomit.jpg

view from 39th, (is this brickwork different than the drawings?)
I guess it doesn't matter how he dresses up this turd- it's still a turd!
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/39th-view.jpg

It reminds me of this POS right up the street
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/brick-brac.jpg

set back! right side
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/setback-r.jpg
from the left,
(bet you he does nothing with the exposed side of adjoining buildings)
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/setback-l.jpg

view from 40th
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/40th-view.jpg

the other P O S on 40th
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/other-one.jpg

street mess
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/base.jpg

This wet cement is as deep as the curb is high and, goes all the way to 9th ave
- clogging the storm drains
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/gross.jpg

Can we just give Sam this whole block and then forbid him to build anywhere
else in the city?
That way in a few years, it will be easy to tear it all down at the same time
and- put some real architecture up in it's place!

[antinimby]

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/40th-view.jpg^ This one has all the indications of being really, really atrocious.

This wet cement is as deep as the curb is high and, goes all the way to 9th ave - clogging the storm drains!Someone should really report them for that.

[scumonkey]

The sad thing is, it looks BETTER from the back than it does from the front!

[stache]

Sounds like my last husband!

[lofter1]

Not sure if another new McSam at 126 Water Street (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=126+Water+street,+new+york,+ny&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=58.731174,113.378906&ie=UTF8&ll=40.705693,-74.007044&spn=0.001741,0.00346&z=18&om=1) (between Pine & Wall) has been noted ...

DOB: New Building Application Approved (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?requestid=2&allisn=0000289594&allboroughname=&allnumbhous=&allstrt=) @ 6.29.07

Architect: Gene Kaufman

Owner: Metro Six Hotel / Sam Chang, Partner

28 stories / 430' / ~43,000 gsf / 111 units / Lot: ~ 60' x 40'

This week:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/Financial%20District/126Water_McSam_01b.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/Financial%20District/126Water_McSam_01c.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/Financial%20District/126Water_McSam_01e.jpg

[BrooklynRider]

A painful addition to the Hudson Square neigborhood on Charlton Street...

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/EighthAve24thStreet200709160416.jpg


Who did this hotel on Van Dam Street? The side of it is vaguely reminiscent of the Times Square Hilton. The big aqua square in the middle does scream "Kaufman!!!!!!!"

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/EighthAve24thStreet200709160422.jpg

[lofter1]

That one ^^^ is on Watts Street.

By Peter Poon (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=187704&postcount=624) :(

[kitten]

FYI: I just heard through the grapevine that there was already an accident (last friday) at Sam's 99 Washington st. garage that has begun demo- an elevator was not secured and came crashing down to the ground. Noone was hurt, thankfully. Yet. There apparently was a jolt felt through many surrounding buildings....

[lofter1]

I'm all for folks coming to the USA for opportunity and betterment and all, but take a close look at a Chang / McSam worksite and then tell me that a large portion of the workers there are citizens of this great country of ours.

I understand that Chang can use non-union labor if he chooses, but why is it that all his sites seem to be populated by non-NYC / non-local workers? Where do all these folks come from? My understanding is that there are lots of Irish, Polish & Central American workers on these sites. What is the pay scale that Chang and his builder (often Flintrock) offer? And who is watching the store?

ps: If I'm wrong I'll take it all back -- but not until somebody shows me the proof.

[ASchwarz]

^
Not sure I understand this post. Are you a nativist? Speaking as an immigrant, I can't imagine many New Yorkers share your suspicion of newcomers.

If you're referring to the fact that many developers hire NYC immigrants instead of union thugs from Jersey, I think that's a wonderful thing. NYC already has the highest labor construction costs in the nation, and you want to make costs even higher, while giving jobs to mafia-linked suburbanites instead of city residents?

[lofter1]

From CURBED (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/10/17/theyve_come_to_bury_brooklyn_not_to_praise_it.php) today ...

They've Come to Bury Brooklyn, Not to Praise it

Wednesday, October 17, 2007, by Joey

http://curbed.com/uploads/2007_10_bkhotels.jpg

Yesterday, architect Gene Kaufman (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/07/31/silvery_metallic_megastructure_coming_to_burgs_uni on_ave.php), developer Sam Chang (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/08/01/sam_chang_to_pussycat_lounge_i_will_crush_you.php) and Hotel Le Bleu (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/10/05/le_bleu_shooting_to_be_the_new_six_columbus.php)
GM Robert Gaeta sat on a panel to discuss Brooklyn hotel development.
As a preventative measure, Robert Scarano and Karl Fischer were whisked
off to underground bunkers so that if someone from Wired New York tried to
firebomb the building, there would still be people left to ruin the city.
Brownstoner (http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/10/brooklyn_hotel.php) has the full report of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce-
sponsored affair, and it's absolutely spectacular. In fact, we're giving it the
numbered list treatment...

1) Sam Chang on Brooklyn: "I don’t like it. It’s enough. I’ve stopped buying
in Brooklyn." That's bad news for Manhattan, where his McSam company is
already building (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/07/23/mcsamorama_mania_in_midtown_west.php) roughly 10,000 new eyesores. Give us more, Sammy!

2) The Le Bleu team expects people to pay $200-$350 per night to stay at
their new Le Jolie Hotel, described as "Williamsburg's first hotel" and located
on Withers Street, gloriously snuggled up next to the BQE (http://gowanuslounge.blogspot.com/2007/03/hot-sheets-for-hipsters-new-greenpoint.html).

3) Gaeta on criticism of Le Bleu and its fabulous views (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/09/18/the_view_from_rm_602_at_le_bleu_magnifique.php): "I think some of the
people writing these blog sites may not be able to afford $400 a night."

4) Gaeta again, this time saying Fourth Avenue “will become a boulevard for
Brooklyn." As opposed to what is not just a boulevard in Brooklyn.

5) Kaufman said the credit crunch will have an effect, and projects "that
don’t make sense won’t get built." Unfortunately, this Kaufman (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/06/20/williamsburg_building_gets_its_crowning_touches.ph p) still seems
to make sense, somehow.

· Brooklyn Hotel Buzz: Boom and Doom (http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/10/brooklyn_hotel.php) [Brownstoner]

[lofter1]

^

Not sure I understand this post ... you want to make costs even higher, while giving jobs to mafia-linked suburbanites instead of city residents?

Don't put words in my mouth. Not all if even a large fraction of NYC construction workers are "mafia-linked suburbanites".

And how do you iknow these Chang workers are "city residents"?

Bottom line: why does the US Government give work visas given to foreigners for this type of work if there are US citizens willing and able to do the work, especially when there are those in need of employment.

And since you seem to have some knowledge of who Chang employs, what does Chang pay?

[ASchwarz]

I have no connections with Chang nor do I know who he employs or what he pays.

I know the starting going rate for small-time outer-borough construction labor is around $20 an hour, sometimes more (much more depending on skill set). That's pretty good pay for young newcomers to this country.

While I don't have statistics, the union constuction guys I know overwhelmingly live in NJ and Long Island and are white ethnics, while the non-union construction guys live in the Outer Boroughs and are recent immigrants of all shades, but heavily Eastern European, Mexican/Central American and Chinese.

There are many reasons immigrants get these non-union construction jobs. Many of the small-time outer-borough developers are immigrants themselves, and favor the immigrant work ethic. Immigrants are shut out of construction unions, and don't have the education for more lucrative white collar jobs.

These are good jobs, and pay as much or more than basically anywhere on earth. I know an Albanian guy who just moved here from Germany to work as a roofer. Germany is a high-wage place for construction, but non-union pay in NYC is even higher.

[kitten]

Doesn't Chang have a bad reputation for his quality of work and safety practices? Any stories regarding this?

[friedrice]

Chang doesnt use Flintlock. In fact, Flintlock wont work with chang anymore after the 2 hotel's theyve built for him in the past (31st st hampton and 45th st holiday inn)

I'm surprised you didnt know that Sam uses Tritel Construction, which is 50% owned by himself, previously he used MikeSam Construction, which he was also part owner.

Lately, Changs been pressured into use of unions, hence, you see CNY working on his 39th street triple hotel.

As for the reason you see a lot of irish guys, its because EMC, the concrete contractors that Chang attempted to strike a deal with to do all his non union jobs, is owned by irish

[lofter1]

Thanks for clarification ^^^

Flintrock is building the Lam duo on West 40th, which back up to the McSam trio on West 39th -- hence my confusion.

To be honest I don't know the ins and outs of Chang's operations (or the other builders of all these new lower-end hotels) which is why I asked. But one thing is very clear: These projects are built in a manner that is entirely different in time-frame and building style from most other developments in NYC. Most NYC buildings need to go up fast so that there is a short time period from financing to completion when the property starts to generate income. This is NOT the case with these McSams, which often drag on for months. One example: The new ~ 20 story McSam Comfort Inn at 305 W 39th has taken as long to build as the New York Times Tower around the corner. The Comfort Inn has yet to see its first guest, while the NY Times Tower has now been occupied for a number of months.

My concern regarding Chang (and similar) projects is that the prevailing wage is being undercut by a new builder who offers lower wages and fewer benefits to what seems to be a very large influx of new workers. Locals are left out of the ranks of those employed on these jobs -- and those who do work are seemingly compelled to do so at a level far below what is needed to live in and around NYC.

Whether or not the workers on these lower end hotel projects are documented remains a mystery. However our mayor is on record that undocumented workers keep NYC running and the city would fold up without them. Clearly oversight regarding immigration and workers in NYC is not enforced. One could interpret this as an underhanded but organized and sanctioned way of busting the construction unions.

Such is the way of the world, eh?

[friedrice]

you are correct in regards to the pace that changs jobs move. being in the business, i could never understand this as well. being that he has close to 2 dozen projects at once, holding them, should kill you on interest costs alone.

[lofter1]

Exactly ^^^

So how does Chang manage his financing? Who (or what) is the big & deep pocketbook behind the McSam NYC hotel empire that enables such long term holding of the job site(s) with no generation of cash?

[lofter1]

Some info from Chang himself on how he claims to do it (from a FORBES (http://members.forbes.com/global/2006/0619/078.html) article, June 2006):

His [Chang's] building is done through Tritel Construction, where he is a 50% partner. In his customary suit and tie at a desk in his "second" office at Tritel, Chang punches in a few numbers on a calculator, his diamond-encrusted watch glittering. "I sold a lot of hotels," 22 in all, he says. Unlike many serial hotel entrepreneurs who tend to reinvest 100% of their capital gains under Internal Revenue Code Section 1031, which shields such gains made while trading up on properties, Chang keeps 20% for himself. "That's how I built up my cash," he says. He puts his kitty at about $200 million.

But, he rues, "I made several partners very rich." Hotel operating margins have improved in New York's post-9/11 recovery, so now Chang has changed gears again. He's keeping most of the 20 properties under his wholly owned McSam LLC.

... A tight market is fine for Sam Chang. His secret, he says, is a knack for spotting feasible sites for new, midsize, medium-range hotels in a city like New York, which is considered a saturated and high-barrier-to-entry area. The first Comfort Inn set the mold--it was 25 feet wide in front and only 13 feet in back, and he built it 15 stories high. In the financial district he's now building 20 floors on a plot 20 feet wide.

... he also is willing to buck established labor practices, and that has invited trouble.

Starting in April (NOTE: See Village Voice, "Labor War in Chelsea (http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0619,robbins,73148,5.html)", June 2006) brewing tension at three Chang hotel construction sites erupted in altercations with picketers protesting Tritel's use of nonunion labor, unusual on major Manhattan jobs. A carpenters union local, trying to organize what it says is a crew inadequately trained in safety measures and unevenly paid, contends its reps were roughed up by a subcontractor's men. (There were arrests on both sides; Tritel says no operations have been cited for labor infractions.)

"We can build a hotel in New York City only if we can get a good rate," says Chang. "The union was quoting a price of $400 per square foot, and we're building with $250 per square foot." He says a larger project ahead might offer the scale to afford a union crew, "but they try to force us to give them these small jobs."

For 2006 Chang estimates gross revenues for McSam and other development arms plus his half of Tritel at $380 million. At the top of his game in New York but still a single man, he figures he will keep up this frenetic pace for five more years and then slow down. That's subject to changing market conditions, of course.

[lofter1]

Link to a post in the "Hotel News" thread on Chang's legal issues:

Law Suit filed over work at Sheraton Four Points Hotel:
Chang Named as Defendant

FLINTLOCK CONSTRUCTION vs. TRITEL CONSTRUCTION (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=135533&postcount=417)

Index Number: 117771/2006

***

Update(s) from the Court Website:

New York
117771/2006
Active
FLINTLOCK CONSTRUCTION / HOLLANDER & STRAUSSLLP
TRITEL CONSTRUCTION / EPSTEIN BECKER & GREEN
11/15/2007
GISCHE, JUDITH J.
COMPLIANCE CONFERENCE 10

Court: New York Civil Supreme
Index Number: 117771/2006
Case Name: FLINTLOCK CONSTRUCTION vs. TRITEL CONSTRUCTION
Case Type: Other Torts
Track: Standard

Appearance Information (Upcoming):

11/15/2007 STRIAL
Compliance Conference 10
GISCHE, JUDITH J.
COMPLIANCE CONFERENCE 9:30AM
NI DUE 01/04/2008

Appearance Information (History):

11/15/2007 STRIAL
Compliance Conference 10GISCHE, JUDITH J.
COMPLIANCE CONFERENCE 10 9:30AM NI DUE 01/04/2008

06/28/2007 STRIAL
Preliminary Conference 10Preliminary Conference Held GISCHE, JUDITH J.
IAS PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE 10 9:30AM

05/24/2007 STRIAL
Preliminary Conference 10Prelim Conference Adjourned GISCHE, JUDITH J.
IAS PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE 10 9:30AM

05/10/2007 STRIAL
Preliminary Conference 10Prelim Conference Adjourned GISCHE, JUDITH J.
IAS PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE 10 9:30AM

03/29/2007 STRIAL
Preliminary Conference 10Prelim Conference Adjourned GISCHE, JUDITH J.
IAS PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE 10 9:30AM

03/29/2007 MOTION
Motion 10Fully Submitted GISCHE, JUDITH J.
IAS MOTION 10 10M OSC IN PART 002

03/08/2007 STRIAL
Preliminary Conference 10Prelim Conference Adjourned GISCHE, JUDITH J.
IAS PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE 10 9:30AM

02/08/2007 STRIAL
Preliminary Conference 10Prelim Conference Adjourned GISCHE, JUDITH J.
IAS PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE 10 9:30AM

01/04/2007 SINTAL
Preliminary Conference 10Prelim Conference Adjourned GISCHE, JUDITH J.
IAS PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE 10 9:30AM

12/20/2006 MOTION
Motion 10Motion Decided-Open Appearance GISCHE, JUDITH J.
IAS MOTION 10 9:30AM OSC IN PT 001

Chang switched lawyers in March 2007:

Motion Information:

DEF Subst/Relieve/Withdraw Counsel
Decided: 29-MAR-07
MOTION DISPOSED AS INDICATED
Before Justice: GISCHE
Short Form Order 03/29/2007 001
Prel Injunction/Temp Rest Ordr Decided: 20-DEC-06
MOTION DISPOSED AS INDICATED
Before Justice: GISCHE

[friedrice]

Exactly ^^^

So how does Chang manage his financing? Who (or what) is the big & deep pocketbook behind the McSam NYC hotel empire that enables such long term holding of the job site(s) with no generation of cash?


Gotta remember, a few years ago, around 2001 when he started putting out his hotels again, he had forward contracts on many of them, and he's continually built hotels for the purpose of selling. One of his biggest backers is/was Hersha Group...

So theres definately OPM going on, but im assuming most the equity in the project isnt his, so he doesnt care as much.

Lofter, you seem great at pulling research info-- example of his deep pockets is his Hilton on York Street-- he settled with Winston Hotel for $16 mil to get out of his forward sale which he couldnt deliever 1) on time and 2) quality.

[friedrice]

October 31, 5:08 pm
Chang sells hotel for $55M

Sam Chang has sold the Hilton Garden Inn Chelsea, which he developed at 121 West 28th Street, to Inland American Winston Hotels for $55 million. Chang purchased the sites at 119-121 West 28th Street in 2005 for $5.75 million. The 174-room hotel, which opened on October 16th, was sold after this summer's merger between Winston Hotels and REIT Inland American. TRD



----------------------------------------------------
Winston is the same group that he had a $16million settlement earlier this year for not being able to deliver the York St Hilton Garden.

Did the duane st hotel ever open yet?

[GreenwichBoy]

Duane Street Hotel Coming To Tribeca
Tuesday, October 30, 2007-8:23:25 AM


NEW YORK— The Duane Street Hotel is scheduled to open in the Tribeca section of New York early next month.



The Hersha Hospitality Management property will have 45 rooms. Designed much like lofts, the rooms will have high ceilings, tall windows that fill the rooms with natural light, hardwood floors and clean, modern décor.


Each of the rooms feature custom-designed residential furniture, natural wood and slate bathrooms with chrome and marble fixtures. Amenities include a work desk, high-speed and WiFi Internet access, 32-inch plasma TV with premium cable and a CD player/clock-radio with MP3 hook-up.


Additional amenities include in-room spa services from Euphoria Spa, floral arrangements from Flora-tech in all 45 rooms, complimentary chocolates from Jacques Torres, and access to in-room dining from local restaurants.


In addition, the Duane Street Hotel will be home to the 40-seat ‘beca Restaurant, which will also provide room service for the hotel.


Located at 130 Duane St. at Church Street, the six-story hotel was designed by the architectural firm Gene Kaufman Associates and interior designer Paul Vega. From: Hotelbusiness.com

[investordude]

I don't think his hotels seem that bad on Times Square. They're not great buildings, but they are dwarfed by the NYT Tower. If the PA also builds a nice one over the bus terminal, and they build stuff like the GiraSole further west. I think it will all be fine.

New York does need more mid rate hotels, especially around midtown. And the mid rate hotels are likely to be ugly whoever builds them. Give McSam credit for discovering a niche that needs to be filled, and not doing too bad a job of it either.

And I'm with ASchwartz, he should get the medal of honor for hiring nonunion. Labor unions lost power in this country because they are corrupt, in league with organized crime, and they guard their own interests instead of their workers. Having said that, if the workers are here illegally, we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform so that no one is exploited by their employers.

[Fabrizio]

Yes a Medal of Honor ... and the way things are going, maybe even the Congressional Gold Medal ...and while we're at it I would add the Presidential Medal of Freedom.


http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0619,robbins,73148,5.html

Sam Chang recieving his award:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Bush%2C_Byrd_and_Pelosi_awarding_the_Dalai_Lama.jp g

[MidtownGuy]

New York does need more mid rate hotels, especially around midtown. And the mid rate hotels are likely to be ugly whoever builds them. Give McSam credit for discovering a niche that needs to be filled

So let's keep the Penn Hotel. It serves a niche, and despite its recent neglect it does it with more beauty and dignity than any McSam.

[investordude]

If they renovate the Hotel Penn as a landmark (which they eventually would because buildings depreciate and historic renovations are expensive), it will become very high end is my guess, like the Peninsula Hotel or other towers that charm from another era. I'm not necessarily against that if they compensate Vornado and let them build the Merril tower on 31st south of Penn Station, but McSam serves a different market.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Can we get a petition going?We'll need a name.

The Philistine Committee?

[Fabrizio]

Call the petiton WHAT EVER YOU LIKE but let's get going!

To SAM CHANG a MEDAL of HONOR for building crappy looking hotels with non-union labour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Medalsofhonor2.jpg

[scumonkey]

I don't think his hotels seem that bad on Times SquareI don't think you would say that if you had to see them every time you stepped out your front door!
Just because they are mid rate doesn't mean that they have to be HORRID!.
I would prefer a plain red brick box (fedders and all) over these Wretched plastic coloured bricks,
in hap hazzard patterns. And forget about the Cheezy set backs from the street wall- maintain the curtain!

[GreenwichBoy]

99 Washington Street

At the corner of Washington and Rector Streets, the McSam Hotel Group is building a new 40-story hotel starting in spring 2008. Currently the site of a parking garage, 99 Washington Street is one of several new high-rise developments in the area south of the World Trade Center. Contractor HRH Construction will build the new tower, planned as a 370-room Holiday Inn hotel.


Daily Activities

*The following information was last updated on November 1, 2007.
Work currently taking place includes

Demolition work through February 2008From: Lowermanhattan.info

[investordude]

While the elitist kvetch about whether they like his designs, McSam is bringing important businesses like a Comfort Inn back to the Bronx. http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/bronx/2007/11/13/2007-11-13_proposed_comfort_inn_hotel_draws_concern.html

And my sense on this community board is simple - rezone the outdated areas residential and get market rate housing build in the Bronx. It's time the Bronx wake up and gentrify like the rest of New York instead of being the borough left behind.

[Fabrizio]

Me? Elitist?

[ASchwarz]

I bet you that Comfort Inn makes a bundle.

There are few hotels in the Bronx, and a large and growing population.

[lofter1]

Is there any developer in NYC who gets more STOP WORK ORDERS than the seemingly careless Sam Chang ???

The new McSam Hotel project at 3070 Webster Avenue (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?bin=2017872&requestid=5&restore=1) in The Bronx:

STOP WORK ORDER EXISTS ON THIS PROPERTY (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/ComplaintsByAddressServlet?requestid=6&allbin=2017872&fillerdata=A)

Seems Chang isn't using his usual whipping boy on this one, but has hired architect Michael Kang (http://www.aianova.org/DA07/ins02.php) instead ...

[friedrice]

he uses kaufman for his manhattan jobs, and kang for the outer boros...he's used kang for some of his older stuff out in queens i think

[investordude]

$225 for a room at a limited service hotel in a remote area of the Bronx? I doubt he can get that, unless its like on a day the Yankees are hosting a home game in the world series.

But I think he can probably get the $100 or so a night I'd guess he'll need to break even and fill the obvious need for a hotel in a city of 1.5 million. Even if most people there are poor, they still have family and the wealthy uncle in the suburbs that will ocassionally need a hotel room.

[ASchwarz]

Yeah, it sounds on the high side, but I have seen those rates for Quality Inn-type hotels in the outer parts of Brooklyn (Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Sheepshead Bay), when my parents come into town (and I scrambe to find a room).

There's basically no competition. There's one decent hotel in Bay Ridge, so they can charge ridiculous prices.

Also, the Bronx, like the other boroughs, has some income diversity. This hotel is in the North Bronx, in the Norwood/Woodlawn area which (in parts) is quite nice.

Woodlawn in particular has many expensive single family homes and is popular with professionals of Irish descent.

The more modest Norwood is a typical multiethnic immigrant community. It's no different from typical Queens/Bronx immigrant neighborhoods.

[antinimby]

Let me guess, Kang is another horror show.

[lofter1]

he uses kaufman for his manhattan jobs, and kang for the outer boros...he's used kang for some of his older stuff out in queens i think

photos of kang's mcsams might be interesting --

btw: Kaufman did a presentation at the Community Board 2 meeting last week for a non-Chang project at 335 Canal (at Greene).

The man's voice is worse than his architecture.

[friedrice]

i believe Kang also did Lam Groups recent LIC Marriot Fairfield Inn

[lofter1]

The McSam / Kaufman at 66 Charlton is now wearing a house for a hat ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/66%20Charlton/CharltonHotel_21a.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/66%20Charlton/CharltonHotel_21d.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/66%20Charlton/CharltonHotel_21j.jpg

66

[ablarc]

Actually amusing.

[stache]

Anybody know if the Times has written anything about all this garbage?

[infoshare]

I find the design of the building somewhat appealing: a bit like (http://www.life.com/Life/dreamhouse/graves/gravesview02.html) M. Graves Post-Modernism (http://www.life.com/Life/dreamhouse/graves/graves02.html). IMO this one is a good architectural design.

[Fabrizio]

The links to Graves "Dream Home":

Grave's design is a riff on the American-style home. I'm no fan of Graves but his design choices here are intellectual and skilled.

But the "addition" seen at the top of this cheap, sorry looking Chang tower, is a one-note joke.

No way can it be compared to Graves.

IF this tower had good build quality, at least excuses could be made. But this is junk.

[Stern]

Yeah this is no Graves. Its a tombstone.

[infoshare]

I cant' say exactly why I find this building "somewhat appealing" or why it reminds me a bit of the architectural designs of Michael Graves: but I do and it does. :p

Also, I am sure it was done on a minimal budget considering who the developer is Sam Chang. I like this one: but, I can not say that about any other building by McSam. :confused:

[lofter1]

Hotel King Chang Stakes Another McSam Flag
in Hell's Kitchen

http://www.observer.com/files/imagecache/article/files/Chachangagain.jpg
Propertyshark.com
548 West 48th Street.

New York Observer (http://www.observer.com/2007/hotel-king-chang-stakes-another-mcsam-flag-hells-kitchen)
by Chris Schott
December 21, 2007

Sam Chang is at it again!

According to public records, the voracious developer (http://www.observer.com/2007/cha-chang-sam-chang-builds-first-brands-later) has snatched up yet another plot of land, this time in Hell's Kitchen, paying $6.6 million for the current Pace Auto Parts Inc., building at 548 West 48th Street.

What will become of the lot?

Another hotel?

Condominiums?

A condo-hotel?

Stay tuned.

***

Cha-Chang! Sam Chang Builds First, Brands Later

The New York Observer (http://www.observer.com/2007/cha-chang-sam-chang-builds-first-brands-later)
by Chris Shott
December 11, 2007

http://www.observer.com/files/imagecache/article/files/Tales-ChangHotel1V.jpg
Chris Shott
He’s on his way to making 50 hotels in the city,
whether you Mc-like it or not.

Sam Chang isn’t your typical New York hotel developer.

While others strive to emulate the chic boutique model, popularized by luxury lodging pioneer Ian Schrager, Mr. Chang has taken an alternative approach, bringing the suburban-style comforts of national hotel chains to urban explorers across the five boroughs.

Sure, even Mr. Schrager himself has a new line of hostelries now in the works under the Marriott moniker. But it’s hard to imagine him ever erecting a Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inn or Candlewood Suites—much less sticking them all on the same block, as Mr. Chang is doing on West 39th Street.

A 20-story Comfort Inn already towers over the street, between Eighth and Ninth avenues. Five adjacent hotels are currently under construction. Mr. Chang and his partners are also building on nearby West 44th, 43rd, 36th, 35th, 29th, 26th and 24th streets, to name a few locations. His stated goal: a whopping 50 new hotels, stretching from the Bronx to Staten Island. “We’re getting close,” Mr. Chang told The Observer, adding, “And we can always do more.”

His appetite for construction is apparently so ravenous that he’s been known to start building, say, a Hilton Garden Inn before even bringing it up with the Hilton Hotel Corporation.

“Most developers don’t have the financing capabilities that Sam Chang does,” said Bill Fortier, Hilton Hotels’ senior vice president of franchise development, “so they have to get our licensing agreement before a bank will give them the money to build. Sam doesn’t necessarily need that, so he’ll go out and start building and then come and get the licensing agreement from us after the fact.”

Hilton execs aren’t exactly put off by Mr. Chang’s roundabout and rather presumptuous franchising tactics. To the contrary, they named him their multibrand “Developer of the Year” last winter, citing his multiple Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn and Doubletree Hotel projects. Mr. Chang has since sold off at least one of his Hilton hotels, along West 28th Street, for nearly $50 million more than he paid for the lot, preconstruction, in 2005.

Still, his portfolio expands. Last month, he purchased a lot along East Eighth Street for $4.9 million with reported plans to build a new condo building. But the site’s future use wasn’t the most striking aspect of the deal. Mr. Chang reportedly bought the building “site unseen,” over the phone in a matter of mere minutes.

“He’s very fast—he can normally make decisions on the spot,” said Eastern Consolidated broker Charlotte Fu, who represented Mr. Chang on the blind condo buy, among other purchases. “I remember this apartment building I sold him in Flushing, Queens. He just stood in the hallway, took a look around, and gave me an offer right away. I said, ‘You should look inside an apartment.’ He said, ‘No, no, it’s not necessary. Don’t bother people.’”

Indeed, the Comfort Inn king of New York tried to keep a low profile while he and his partners quietly snatched up properties across the city. But his ambitions soon metastasized to the point that people couldn’t help but notice, making the CEO of the fast-foodishly named McSam Hotel Group something of a celebrity in real estate circles. “I’m not a movie star, I’m just an investor,” he said.

On Monday afternoon, according to an assistant, he was meeting with fellow building titan Donald Trump (about what she declined to say).

His seemingly insatiable hunger for land and apparent affinity for cladding his buildings in synthetic stucco (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/02/20/dryvit_abounds_over_eighth_avenue.php), meanwhile, have become recurring jokes for those who follow local development. Mr. Chang, a 47-year-old Taiwan native, has just begun to embrace his newfound fame, sometimes granting interviews and occasionally making public appearances.

This past October, he joined a panel discussion, convened by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, about hotel development in the borough.

Mr. Chang clearly stood out as the rock star of the group, arriving late, talking bluntly, eliciting laughs and looking bored as others spoke, according to attendees.

And, contrary to the usual boosterish tone of chamber meetings, Mr. Chang, who already built two hotels in Brooklyn and currently has others in the pipeline, declared that the borough’s apparent boom time was already bust.
“I’ve stopped buying in Brooklyn,” he reportedly said, and shook his head as others played up the demand for new rooms boroughwide.

“His attitude was more or less, ‘I speak from experience, and you newbies are in for a serious spanking,’” said Gabby Warshawer, who covered the debate for the Brooklyn real estate blog Brownstoner.

Other parts of town, meanwhile, are still yearning for some of Mr. Chang’s frank perspective.

Residents in the Bronx were miffed when the developer skipped public meetings and instead sent an attorney to answer questions about his proposed Comfort Inn on Webster Avenue, a project that, critics fear—given its remote location and the neighborhood’s seedy lodging history—could devolve into an hourly rate motel or makeshift homeless shelter.

Even subsequent protests failed to persuade Mr. Chang to show up.

“When you’ve got the chairman of the Democratic Party, the borough president’s office, and the local city councilman all walking the picket line, saying, ‘Stop this hotel’—that would’ve been the ‘Aha!’ moment for me,” said Gregory Faulkner, chairman of the Bronx’s Community Board 7. “That would’ve been the time for me to go out there and meet with people.”

Next week, the board is scheduled to vote on a resolution expressing its opposition to Mr. Chang’s proposed hotel. Not that it stands much chance of ever stopping the McSam steamroller.

“It’s as-of-right,” Mr. Faulkner conceded, “so he’s perfectly able to build without us.”

[krulltime]

Yeah, even though this guy is bad in architecture and materials, this one is probably the most appealing one he has done. It is still bad compare to other newer buildings but better looking than what he is been doing so far.

[scumonkey]

http://www.observer.com/files/imagecache/article/files/Chachangagain.jpg

!%@#!% It is bad enough that he is F'ing up
our hood by building on all the local parking lots
but, This crosses the line.....I SHOP THERE!!!
To lose this to another VILE McShame building
crosses the line - Hell's Kitchen is now WAY past
the Chang saturation point any neighborhood
should have to endure. :mad:

[antinimby]

That article makes Sam Chang out to be some kind of heroic figure.

It's just amazing and unbelievable how non-existent any criticism he gets and unscathed he is from the media and public in this city for the horrific eyesores he's created in such a short span of time.

Outside of a couple of threads on this website, he is never mentioned in a bad light, not even cynical weblogs like curbed talk bad about him. They usually go after Scarano or Karl Fischer endlessly, eventhough their architecture is at least several significant notches above that of Kaufman's.

Amazing.

[friedrice]

The McSam / Kaufman at 66 Charlton is now wearing a house for a hat ...


66

This is a Lam Group- not mcsam project

[lofter1]

Yep ^^^ you're right.

Department of Finance documents (http://a836-acris.nyc.gov/Scripts/DocSearch.dll/Detail?Doc_ID=2005021501672002) show that the principal at 66 Charlton is "Kin Chung Lam".

A page in a 2005 Deed (http://a836-acris.nyc.gov/Scripts/DocSearch.dll/Detail?Doc_ID=2005021101571001) shows a corporate connection to the owner named "Luk & Luk, LLC"

[stache]

Sounds like Dim Sum!

[Stern]

All I know is that when it comes to their hotels there's... Sum Ting Wong.

[scumonkey]

Sum Ting Wong
Best laugh I've had in a looong time!:D

[BrooklynRider]

... Sum Ting Wong.

That was a good laugh out loud moment.

[pianoman11686]

http://www.observer.com/files/imagecache/article/files/Chachangagain.jpg

!%@#!% It is bad enough that he is F'ing up
our hood by building on all the local parking lots
but, This crosses the line.....I SHOP THERE!!!
To lose this to another VILE McShame building
crosses the line - Hell's Kitchen is now WAY past
the Chang saturation point any neighborhood
should have to endure. :mad:

What do you need an Auto Parts store for in Manhattan?

[scumonkey]

What do you need an Auto Parts store for in Manhattan?
What, people in Manhattan can't own a car?!:o
I'm an artist and they have a good selection of hard to find Auto paints there.
Don't get me wrong, there is nothing great about that squallid little building BUT-
I'd rather have it(or a parking lot), than ANYTHING that Sam Chang would put there!!!

[ih8samson]

Is this a Chang hotel? Its the Hampton Inn-Chelsea on 24th. I spent two nights in this POS and was given an $1,1000 bill, luckily the room was comped. All of the common spaces were incredibly small and the construction seemed cheap. It has a similar look to some of the others in this thread.

[stache]

Did you eat all the snacks in the personal fridge?

[Stern]

I wouldn't pay $1,100 for a months stay there....................actually I would. And there in lies the problem with NY residential and hotel architecture, most of us (myself included) are looking for the best value at the best location. Only the rich have the luxury of buying on account of the buildings exterior architecture. Who here in the middle class bracket would pay say $500 a month more for the same building with great architecture compared to one with hideous architecture?

[ablarc]

^ Hmm ... 17 bucks a day for nice exterior architecture... Stern, you have a point.

* * *

These buildings serve a purpose.

Next NY visit I may have to stay at a McChang for budgetary reasons. Also, I assume they're roach-free.

[Fabrizio]

Checked the rates. TripAdvisor lists their average price at $325 year round. I do not know ... is that particularly low for a budget hotel?

[stache]

but I thought budget Manhattan hotels were around $225.00 a night these days.

[ablarc]

TripAdvisor lists their average price at $325 year round. I do not know ... is that particularly low for a budget hotel?
Well, this one's obviously McChang McLuxe.

[Fabrizio]

Fortunately I have friends with a spare McGuestroom and another with a perfectly comfy McSofa.

[lofter1]

The PR has been that these new Chang / McSAm / Kaufman / Poon / Lam hotels will fill the affordable niche ("mid-range" to "economy") and offer good rates @ ~ $225 - $250 / room.

But this one belies that PR BS.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to room rates once the market is more saturated wth all the new hotel construction going on now.

Some INFO (http://www.therealdeal.net/issues/MAY_2007/1177699920.php), where it is indicated that this one, being priced at $325 / night, is nearing the "luxury segment" :rolleyes: :



Economy hotels no bargain for developers

City's prolific hotel builders mostly turning away from lower price bracket

Real Deal
By Lauren Elkies
May 2007

... "I don't think anyone can afford to build economy hotels in Manhattan," said hotel developer Sam Chang, CEO of McSam Hotel. Chang has built about 25 hotels in the city, six of them in the economy class, including a Howard Johnson at 135 East Houston Street on the Lower East Side and a Days Inn in Long Island City, slated to open this month.

The costs of economy hotels are too high to turn a profit, Chang said. The Days Inn "will be my last economy hotel."

... Hotels in metro markets can be divided into five price categories: luxury is the top 15 percent; upscale is the next 15 percent; mid-price is the middle 30 percent; economy is the next 20 percent; and budget is the lowest 20 percent, according to data from Smith Travel Research. The company does not track hostels or dormitories.

In the New York City metro area luxury segment, there are 56 hotels with an average nightly room rate of $333.62, as of March 1, Smith Travel data shows. The upscale sector comprises 64 hotels with an average room rate of $207.51. The 119 mid-price hotels have an average room rate of $155.67. The economy group includes 84 hotels with an average room rate of $119.12, but the data is not that reliable because less than 40 percent of the 84 hotels provided data for the study. The data for the budget market, where the room rate is $113.38, is even less reliable, because only 6 percent of the 73 hotels so categorized participated in the survey.

New York City's hotels are significantly pricier than those in the rest of the country. In the two bottom classes nationwide, there are 9,163 hotels with an average room rate of $58.66. The budget hotels have an average room rate of $47.49.

Some developers say the key to having a successful budget hotel in New York City is using upscale branding or offering a few in-demand amenities.

[ablarc]

^ Those hotel room prices seem 10 years out-dated.

[lofter1]

Note that the March 2007 room rates encompass the entire "New York City metro area" ...

[ih8samson]

Did you eat all the snacks in the personal fridge?

Thats cute, but no-the room didn't even have one. The actual rate was $495 a night and I guess the rest was taxes. Perhaps it was becuase it was a weekend stay at what was the peak of the holiday tourist season- but yeah $495 a night for the Hampton Inn. Only in NYC.

[pianoman11686]

^^^Those prices may appear artificially low because of special corporate, government, or other discounts that do not show up if you just book a room on Expedia.

[ablarc]

^ The rich get the discounts.





Does Bill Gates stay for free?

[antinimby]

McSam sewage is starting to creep up onto Fifth Ave. from their usual Chelsea-area collection pool.

There's a Poon and Kaufman hotel going up on the same block just off Fifth on W. 37 St.

First the Poon, at 21 W. 37 St., a 17-story filthy hotel. The Kaufman-designed P-O-J (piece of junk) is a few doors down at 33 W. 37 St., all 19 ugly stories of it in full view.

[pianoman11686]

Didn't Kaufman design a senior living building just off 5th on like 38th street a while ago?

[antinimby]

No, that was O'Hara and that was on 35th, which is still very unfortunate nevertheless.

Anyway, it's clear they're moving uptown and from the grittier areas around the ESB into the direction of the more upscale areas further up Fifth Ave.

Scary.

[stache]

They will move uptown as far as they can afford.

[scumonkey]

These north Korean slum hotels are taking forever to build.
I thought Diarrhea was supposed to shoot right out!:rolleyes:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/mcCheaps.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/McUpchucks.jpg
street level setback
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/deathback.jpg

Talk about Mc Red bricks!:eek:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/McSamolds.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/mcUpchuck.jpg

another one being squeezed in here to the west (taken from a crack in the construction doors)
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/another-freightmare.jpg

[sfenn1117]

There's just no excuse for the way these look. Embarassing for all parties involved.

Thanks for the photos today.

[lofter1]

Isn't it good to know that we can build garbage in NYC just like they do in the home countries of the guys who are developing these stacks of chicken pens -- errrr -- uhh -- I mean -- ummmmm ... these lovely hotels?

Let's hear it for globazlization http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/images/icons/icon9.gif

[stache]

but they actually look better than the Beaver, which certainly is not saying much!

[Skylimitone]

A disgrace, they're sprouting up like a fungus on the city's landscape.

[MidtownGuy]

That should not be legal. It's like taking a giant stinking dump on the city that made your fortune possible.

[stache]

We're trying very hard to move away from scat references here at WNY.

[krulltime]

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/mcCheaps.jpg

These buildings are a joke. Hmmm....

http://www.martinarmand.com/Imagetwo/Happy%20clown.jpg

[scumonkey]

These buildings are a joke.
They ARE a joke...a BAD joke!
Pic of the back of the hotels on 40th
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/ChangsBackside.jpg

[antinimby]

Is there anything going up anywhere in the world that is more retarded looking than that?

[stache]

I'm guessing there's stuff in Asia that looks as bad or worse.

[Scraperfannyc]

I concur with the rest. I thought it was April 1st, but I was wrong. It was Sam Chang.

[friedrice]

those two buildings are lam not chang

[scumonkey]

Don't you mean "Lame"?!

[antinimby]

Oh


My


God!


That was pretty much my reaction when I laid eyes on the below from Kaufman. Could it be that Kaufman, by a one in a million chance, in that rarest of rare cases where even a blind squirrel finds a nut and where one of his work actually does NOT look terrible and depending on your taste, maybe even good-looking?

You decide...

McSam sells unfinished Sheraton at 370 Canal St. for $83 million


http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/images/11867/canalhotel.jpg
370 Canal St.


Updated on 02/27/08 (http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/mcsam-sells-unfinished-sheraton-at-370-canal-st-for-83-million) at 11:46 AM

Sam Chang's McSam Hotel Group has sold a Sheraton Hotel being built at 370 Canal Street to Magna Hospitality Group for $83.5 million, according to city records. The 20-story, 360-room hotel is slated to be completed this year. Concrete construction began last month.

The deal is the second unfinished hotel that McSam has sold to Rhode Island-based Magna this month. It also sold 505-513 West 43rd Street, the site of a planned 198-room budget hotel, to Magna Hospitality Group for $42 million.

That property, near 10th Avenue, was not due to be completed until mid-2009. Magna Hospitality Group manages some of Chang's New York hotels. The Department of Buildings issued three stop-work orders for the Canal Street project.

© 2008 The Real Deal

Hey look, the base even follows the streetwall!

[Stern]

Not bad at all.

[friedrice]

too bad it wont be finished for another 10 years.... completed this year my as$.. when does mcsam ever finish anything on time...

[scumonkey]

Just when you though that Mc Sam couldn't mess up our West side hood anymore (built to saturation).....


"from "The Real Deal"

McSam buys West Side property for $24 million

Sam Chang's McSam Hotel Group has purchased a property at 431 West 33rd Street for $24 million, according to city records. The property, a 74,000 square foot parking lot, is between Ninth and Tenth avenues. The seller was Saxa, Inc. of Scottsdale, Az. Earlier today, The Real Deal (http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/mcsam-sells-unfinished-sheraton-at-370-canal-st-for-83-million) reported that sold a Sheraton Hotel being built at 370 Canal Street to Magna Hospitality Group for $83.5 million. TRD
http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/images/11876/431_W_33_St.jpg

[scumonkey]

from "The Real Deal"
Chang bets big on Trump Entertainment



By David Jones

New York hotel developer Sam Chang has quietly and aggressively increased his stake in Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.

Chang, chairman of Great Neck, N.Y.-based McSam Hotel Group, has increased his stake in Trump Entertainment to 7.5 percent, making him one of the Atlantic City casino operator's top four stakeholders, according to a filing with federal regulators earlier this month.

Trump Entertainment officials said they have had no contact with Chang, who could not be reached comment.

"Certainly it's a positive sign of [Chang's] substantial belief in the company's potential," Trump Entertainment spokesman Tom Hickey told the Press of Atlantic City.

As one of New York's largest hotel developers, Chang has about 4,000 hotel rooms under development. He has agreements with Holiday Inn, Candlewood Suites, Sheraton and other brands.

Chang has been branching out from the hotel market. He recently acquired property in the East Village as part of a plan to build more condominiums. Chang has also sold two unfinished Manhattan hotels to Magna Hospitality Group this month, as The Real Deal (http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/mcsam-sells-unfinished-sheraton-at-370-canal-st-for-83-million) reported earlier this week.

Chang's investment in Trump Entertainment comes at a critical time for the Atlantic City gaming industry. Casino revenue fell 5.7 percent to $4.92 billion last year, according to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

The drop, Atlantic City's first-ever annual decline in gaming revenue, was blamed on a partial ban on smoking in New Jersey casinos and competition from new gaming venues in Pennsylvania and upstate New York.

"The market right now is in a state of definite and irreversible transition from a local day-trip market to a regional destination resort," said Michael Pollock, managing director of Spectrum Gaming Group. "From an investor standpoint, it's going to take people with a very long time horizon."

For the first nine months of 2007, Trump Entertainment lost $15 million, or 48 cents a share, compared with a loss of $8.8 million, or 29 cents a share one year earlier. Revenue fell to $759.6 million from $782.1 million a year earlier.

Trump Entertainment attempted to sell itself last year. It entered talks with a group led by former Trump Taj Mahal President Dennis Gomes and Morris Bailey, the co-principal of Manhattan-based JEMB Realty. A