Sam Chang invades the rarefied territory of 56th St. Btwn 5th and 6th

[stache]

He never really had any.

[londonlawyer]

Sam Chang and Kaufman are the only "developer" and "architect" that make Macklowe and Costas appear to be class acts.

[antinimby]

A poster on curbed.com that claims to have worked for McSam is whistle-blowing on their illegal practice of skipping fireproofing on some of his cheap-ass buildings. (scroll down to the comments, #8)

Read the other comments as well, as they are pretty much right on target.

[NoyokA]

Bad Sam's at it again.

[kurokevin]

Who would have thunk that over a year ago when this "Hotel boom" first started being discussed with optomistic enthusiasm that it would have turned out to be one of New York's biggest nightmares since Robert Moses?

[BrooklynRider]

You sir, have just lost all credibility.

I'm going to have to agree on this. McSam is polluting this city.

[Fabrizio]

Investordude: "Just like...Donald Trump and his father."

My God, Trump's vision of luxury and taste may not be mine, but he's saint compared to this MCSam guy.

McSam's stuff makes Trump's first big project in Manhattan, the awful recladding of the Commodore Hotel, look like something from McKim, Mead, and White.

Since then, Trump's gone on to do great, high quality projects, with a concern for the city... and actually, you could see from the begining that he had it in him.... but McSam?

[investordude]

By the time Donald was working in Manhattan, his father had laid the path for him. Look at his father's Coney Island 'luxury' buildings. That's how he got started, and in my opinion, McSams' buildings to date look better than this.

As for antinimby, that may be a typical McSam building, but like I said, it's not going to show up on the city scape. Especially, if you put a building like that on 56th street, it won't be noticed. Just think about it - nobody notices the current dumpy building. 14 stories is short on 56th.

My guess is these guys came to America with nothing, and proved they could make it here, and they were visionaries on providing discount hotels that New York's outer boroughs needed but weren't getting from the old, snobby, established real estate families who discounted them.

I'll reserve judgement until I see the renderings on 56th, but I'm guessings its going to be just fine.

[MidtownGuy]

investor dude said

Nobody should be stopping the private sector from investing in critical needs, its government meddling and activists that should be stopped.

It's because certain needs are critical that some people, sometimes, need to be guided away from serving only their own short-term interests and damaging the whole in the long run. Your statement suggests a false dichotomy.
All or nothing. Total free reign of investors, or needs denied because of meddling. Ever heard of the middle ground? The type of economy that actually exists, and not some robber-baron fantasy.

You can thank your lucky stars for activists and government "meddllng". They're part of the reason you have a safe and attractive environment in which to invest in the first place!

[MidtownGuy]

that may be a typical McSam building, but like I said, it's not going to show up on the city scape. Especially, if you put a building like that on 56th street, it won't be noticed.

It's not about one building. This is a cumulative effect. Obviously no one building ruins a whole city. But if you keep building junk piles, one after another, sooner or later the character of a city does change. And believe me, that is noticeable. Just a matter of time.

It's like the discussion about the Drake, or about the Pennsylvania Hotel. Or the townhouses on 56th. In each case, some people don't see the individual loss. There's plenty more where that old stuff came from, they say. So what if another cheap-looking box takes their place. Someone is making money, and to hell with everything else.

Some people will just never understand...

[TREPYE]

Since then, Trump's gone on to do great, high quality projects, with a concern for the city... and actually, you could see from the begining that he had it in him.... but McSam?

How could you say that??? If there is any correlation I can see between this McSam guy and Trump is that they are abject bottomline developers, saving money where ever they can, including (without hesitation) limiting aesthetics. You call that westside assembly good for the city?? And Trump no less has the money to apply some aesthetic flare to his projects and since that tower on the UES I have yet so see any building that people like all across the board. None.

If there is one thing I can say for Trump is that he lays his quality inside the building not outside. Which is fine if you are filthy rich but most of us arent. So if that is the quality you are referring please be more specific.

[Fabrizio]

It's wonderful that this guy is offering budget hotel rooms. No problem there. The problem is the agressively ugly, fug-you, designs.

Eventually you'll ruin the environment that people where attracted to in the first place.

Ian Schaeger created low-price rooms at the Paramount, at the Hudson, with high style. It can be done. If only this McSam guy had a fraction of that sensibility.

[Fabrizio]

"If there is one thing I can say for Trump is that he lays his quality inside the building not outside. Which is fine if you are filthy rich but most of us arent. So if that is the quality you are referring please be more specific."

Specifics:

TrumpTower. I would rather have had the BonwitTeller building landmarked, but aside from personal preferences, it is a fine modern building , well respected, and worthy of 5th (despite the garish brass and oversize Trump sign at street level):

http://www.thecityreview.com/trumpt.html

( when Gucci moves into a McSams... let me know)

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An attractive upgrade (Philip Johnson) of the horrid Gulf&Western Building (again Trump blows the ground floor):

http://www.thecityreview.com/uws/cpw/cpw1.html

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Delmonico's, now Trump Park avenue. This one could have gone the way of the Drake. A corner worth specluating on with a massive tower. Instead we get a fine restoration:

http://www.cityrealty.com/condos/bui...me.php?lid=202

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The Barbizon was a (glorious) dump. Trump give it a refurbishing. I'll even forgive the Arabian Nights canopy:

http://www.thecityreview.com/cps/cps106.html

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If you don't like modern glass towers then you won't like Trump World Tower, but it's considered a fine example. Great skin. Emporis Skyscraper Award 2001 :

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=...orkcity-ny-usa

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The Trump West Side project ?.... hey, even our own ablarc spoke well of it.

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In the mix, has Trump done some awful, ugly stuff? Yep, but compare him to McSam? I don't think so...

[ASchwarz]

Sam Chang is a godsend for the city. Yes, I'm serious.

There are few projects more important than new hotel rooms. There is a HUGE shortage of hotel rooms, and until he arrived on the scene, nobody was building hotels.

He is creating a huge economic boost for all New Yorkers. The economic multiplier effect from visitors is enormous. Yes, his buildings are banal, but every last one is an improvement over the parking lots, temporary taxpayers and assorted crap they replaced.

His buildings are also environmentally sound. He is doing more than any other person I can think of to replace the parking lots and autotopia from NYC's depression years with new highrises and NO PARKING. He probably has done more than any other person to "Green" the city.

Again, his buildings could look alot better, but there is no debating his positive impact upon the city.

I would love to see every parking lot and crap taxpayer in the five boroughs redeveloped by Chang. He gets it. IMO, many on this board don't.

[lofter1]

This POV ^^^ only works if you're blind