Sam Chang teaming with Marriott on five new ground-up hotels

Hotelier Sam Chang is partnering with international lodging chain Marriott on five new, ground-up hotel projects across the city.

Chang’s Great Neck-based McSam Hotel Group already owns two Marriott hotels in Indianapolis, but is now partnering with the chain on five ground-up developments that will bear the Marriott name and represent the hotelier’s first collaboration with Marriott in New York City.

The projects include a planned 350-room Marriott at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens; a 225-room Marriott Fairfield Inn opening in July at 538 West 58th Street in Hell’s Kitchen; a 113-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott opening next year at 322-326 West 44th Street in Hell’s Kitchen; and a 190-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott opening next year at 100 Greenwich Street in the Financial District.

McSam[TRData] is also working on a “two-pack” hotel project at 338 West 36th Street in the Garment District that will hold a 286-key Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites at the bottom and a 280-key Marriott SpringHill Suites at the top, according to the Commercial Observer. Construction work recently started on that development.

Chang told the Observer that while he has teamed with other brands to build hotels in the past, he’s “never done a Marriott product in New York City.” All of the hotels in question are select-service with the exception of the Marriott at JFK International Airport, which will be full-service.

“I control five hotels in JFK right now and they are [at] 90 percent occupancy,” Chang said. [CO] – Rey Mashayekhi