Chang, Kaufman Behind New Hyatt Place Project in Manhattan

By Veronica Grecu

Hyatt Place, 350 W. 39th St.

New York—The site of a former office building in the Garment District–Times Square area is going through major transformations.

Hotel developer Sam Chang of the McSam Hotel Group and controversial architect Gene Kaufman have joined forces again to build their tenth hospitality project.

Located at 350 W. 39^th St. between Eight and Ninth avenues, the new Hyatt Place hotel broke ground last week on the site of a two-story, 20,000-square-foot office structure that used to house digital advertising agency R/GA until late 2015. Paul Vega of VLDG will serve as interior designer for the 180,000-square-foot hotel, which will be one of the largest in this area of Manhattan.

The new Hyatt Place will stand 25 stories above ground and will offer 518 guest rooms, as well as nearly 7,000 square feet of dining and lounge space, including an indoor restaurant, a backyard eatery, and a bar and lounge area on the first floor. The lower level will accommodate a fitness center, a business center and a meeting area.

The planned hotel is being developed in an area that contains nine other hotels also designed by Gene Kaufman—the most recent one, a massive Hilton Double Tree, is set to open on the West 40th Street side of the block in December.

In October 2014, Sam Chang purchased the site at 350 W. 39^th St. for $112 million from R/GA, in a transaction brokered on both sides by Robert Knakal and David Kalish of Cushman & Wakefield. The site was later divided into three lots that will accommodate three separate hotels developed by Chang, Curbed NY reported.

Rendering courtesy of Gene Kaufman Architect