New York City is one of the world’s premier travel destinations and international business hubs. As a travel destination, the city boasts iconic landmarks in every direction, from the Statue of Liberty to Central Park. As an international business hub, the Big Apple is home to the headquarters of numerous American and international companies, as well as the New York Stock Exchange.
Visitors, those for business and those for pleasure, arrive daily, bringing with them the need for overnight accommodation. As tourism and business drive more people to the city every year, hotels must keep pace. Contractors who deliver hotels meeting the high standards of the city are in high demand. Here are the top 15 who are the cream of the crop in the City that Never Sleeps.
15) Flintlock Construction Services
580 8th Ave NYC, NY 10018
Andrew and Stephen Weiss established Flintlock Construction Services in 1997, using their extensive experience developing and building affordable housing in the Bronx and Brooklyn in the 1990s. Since founding, Flintlock has built more than 40 major projects, and in each passing year, the firm remains influential in reshaping the city. Such influence is not only manifest in their works, but also in their practices.
A pioneer of open shop construction in Manhattan, the company boasts a strong track record on profitability, being able to deliver projects 20 to 30 percent below the cost of similar closed shop construction projects and to post 100% payment and performance bonds. To date, Flintlock has built 28 hotels within Manhattan, including such prestigious brands as Crowne Plaza, Hilton, Marriott, Aloft, and Wyndham.
14) W&L Group Construction
34-28 Collins Pl, Flushing, NY 11354
President Thomas Wang established W&L Group Construction with his extensive 10+ years experience in the construction and development industry. Wang’s comprehensive understanding of the New York City area enables him to offer clients a specialized presence in the industry. To better serve clients, W&L associates itself with talented and diversely experienced individuals who are always on the lookout for new methods and technologies.
Serving as one of the project sponsors, W&L is currently undertaking the construction and development of the Hotel Indigo World Trade Center at 8-12 Maiden Lane. This Gene Kaufman Architect PC-designed hotel will include 86,300 square feet with 190 guestrooms and restaurants on both the ground floor and rooftop.
13) ICS Builders
108 West 39th St, New York, NY 10018
ICS Builders is a general construction and design-build firm established in 1980 and headquartered in Manhattan. To date, the firm has built and renovated more than 7 million square feet of space for finance, corporate, retail, hospitality, healthcare, education and non-profit sectors. In addition to general construction services, ICS offers estimating, budgeting, scheduling, cost analysis, value engineering, financial controls, permit expediting, MEP systems construction and design support, construction drawings management, and complete project management, as well as green construction.
ICS was responsible for the renovation and additions at the Carlton on Madison Avenue Hotel. The project encompassed renovations to 64 guest rooms and the hotel’s public spaces, including a restaurant with a bar, a café, a lounge bar, meeting rooms, and supporting facilities. ICS also constructed a 17,000-square foot, a three-story addition that will house a 4,500-square foot Grand Lobby, boardroom, meeting room, banquet room, and two elevators.
12) The Rinaldi Group
One Harmon Meadow Blvd, 1st Floor Secaucus, NJ 07094
President and CEO Anthony Renaldi established The Renaldi Group in 2003 after starting his construction career with nationally renowned firms HRH Construction and George A. Fuller. Renaldi is an engineer, builder, and businessman constructing and developing high-rise rental and condominium towers and hotels and large commercial projects throughout New York City, Westchester, New Jersey, Florida, and Arizona. He graduated from Lehigh University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Currently in construction by The Rinaldi Group is 12 E. 48th Street, a 31-story hotel with ground floor retail space on the 47th Street side. It has 161 rooms and a floor area of 125,000 square feet, 115,000 of which is above grade.
11) Time Square Construction and Development
355 Lexington Ave, 17th Flr, New York, NY 10017
Self-characterized with integrity, commitment, and collaboration, Time Square Construction & Development was established in 2006 and has since become a leading construction and development company in New York City. Specializing in both construction and development of residential, commercial and mixed-use properties, this builder-developer has demonstrated its ability to handle each project through all the stages of construction.
Time Square built the 31-story Long Island City Hotel and Residences, featuring 135 apartments and 160 guest rooms, conveniently located in near Manhattan. The tower also includes retail space on the ground floor, a restaurant, and a bar. The building envelope consists of two exposed concrete shear walls and two glass curtain walls.
10) Mc Gowan
160 East Union Ave, East Rutherford, NJ 07073
With a team of over sixty professionals, the East Rutherford-based Mc Gowan has become an industry leader characterized by their highly collaborative team-spirited culture. It has a proud core of executives, each with more than 35 years of experience. Aside from new construction and additions, the firm also specializes in conversions, renovations and interior construction across multiple sectors. CEO Patrick McGowan founded the company in 2001 after over 20 years of construction experience in New York.
McGowan converted three institutional mid-rises into the Dream Hotel Downtown for the Hampshire Hotels & Resorts. In addition to the 316 loft-inspired rooms and suites, the hotel features a lobby restaurant and lounge, and a year-round outdoor heated pool with landscaped terrace and outdoor “beach club.” There is also an expansive rooftop lounge with great views of the Manhattan skyline. Seven of the guestroom suites offer private pool terraces with direct access to the second-floor pool and beach club cabanas, while two duplex suites have private outdoor hot tubs.
9) Pizzarotti IBC
909 Third Avenue,15th floor, New York NY 10022
From an Italian family business founded in 1910, Pizzarotti IBC grew into a global construction firm with a particularly strong focus in the US market. The firm has a portfolio that includes more than 20 countries around the world, as far east as the Philippines and as far west as Peru. Pizzarotti specializes in new construction, complex conversions, residential, commercial and hospitality projects.
AC by Marriott is a 33-story, 340-foot tall hotel that features 274 guestrooms, a meeting room, fitness center, bar, and restaurant. Pizzarotti built this new development on a tight 6,200-square foot landfill next to the East River. Value engineering was used in the project, particularly on the foundation piles. By increasing the diameter of the piles from 9 5/8″ to 13 3/8″, Pizzarotti was able to reduce the number of piles required from 179 to 88.
8) Shawmut Design and Construction
3 East 54th St, 10th Flr, New York, NY 10022
Shawmut Design and Construction is a construction firm headquartered in Boston, MA, with regional offices in New York, Providence, Las Vegas, New Haven, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and West Springfield. The firm is proudly 100% employee-owned, ensuring that everyone in the company has a stake in its future. Shawmut prides itself on its extensive nationwide portfolio comprising of extremely complex and logistically-challenging projects for some of the most high-profile clients in the industry. Fortune awarded Shawmut the Best Workplaces Award.
The InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel in Midtown Manhattan recently received a full renovation by Shawmut. The project included the renovation of its 702 guest rooms, the addition of two ballrooms, restaurant, bar, back-of-house, and lobby.
7) Hunter Roberts Construction Group
55 Water St, 51st Flr, New York, NY 10041
Established in 2005, Hunter Roberts Construction Group has done much work for its relative youth in all 5 boroughs of New York, as well as across the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Lead by President and CEO James McKenna, the firm has completed over 1000 projects valued at more than$7.5 billion. Another sign of their incredible growth is the number of employees: from an original 12, the company grew to 100 employees in the first year alone, establishing regional offices in New Jersey and Philadelphia. Hunter Roberts is a recipient of ENR New York Contractor of the Year Award.
Hunter Roberts was responsible for the construction of Viceroy New York, a new 29-story, 133,000-square-foot facility with 250 guestrooms. The hotel is equipped with a full pool and spa, fitness center, bar, restaurant with skylights, and a rooftop event space bar. Considerable effort went into constructing the hotel: an existing 12-story building had to be demolished, while the pool and spa were excavated out of the midtown rock, some of the hardest in the world. The logistics had been planned sophisticatedly and scrutinized heavily by the governing agencies, especially by the City Department of Transportation.
6) Turner Construction Company
375 Hudson St, 6th Flr, New York, NY 10014
Turner Construction Company was founded in 1902 in New York, and over the years has grown a portfolio of New York projects worth $9.22 billion. Turner is responsible for the construction of many landmark projects in New York City, including the United Nations Secretariat, Lincoln Center and Yankee Stadium. The firm is also strongly dedicated to sustainability, boasting a staff that includes 300 LEED Accredited Professionals and a portfolio that includes two Platinum and nine Gold certified buildings. Their green projects earned for Turner a spot in ENR’s list of top green builders.
Turner has been involved in the construction of some of the world’s most iconic hotels and mixed-use hospitality buildings, including the world’s tallest tower, Burj Khalifa. In New York, it was responsible for the construction of Radisson Lexington Hotel in 1928, and its retrofit in 2000. A more recent project is the redevelopment of The Times Square Marriott Marquis. The project included the 8-story, 26,000 square foot “beyond 4K” digital billboard that wraps around the block.
5) Levine Builders
42-09 235th St, Douglaston, NY 11363
On a summer more than 5 decades ago, Jeffrey Levine found his calling in the construction industry. In 1979, Levine founded Levine Builders with just two people, having cultivated his expertise during his college years. Today, Levine is not just a general contractor, but also a developer and property manager with a varied and expansive portfolio all over New York. Levine would also establish Douglaston Development and Clinton Management, and all three would form The Douglaston Companies, which is committed to Levine’s original vision: “to revitalize and grow neighborhoods one building, one block, or one community at a time.” Levine has been honored by NAHB with its Pillars in the Industry Award, while New York Construction News gave the firm an Award of Merit in the Hospitality category.
Levine handled two Gansevoort Hotels in New York, one in the Meatpacking District and the other on Park Avenue. The Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking district was recognized with the Design Award of Special Recognition from the Society of American Registered Architects. This 13-floor hotel was designed and built to complement the stylish restaurants and boutiques found in the surrounding area. It features 187 rooms with nine-foot ceilings and bay windows that lend themselves to inspired interior room configurations, including seating areas within the curve of the window.
4) Structure Tone
330 West 34th St, New York, NY 10003
Known for its office interior buildout work in the city, Structure Tone has constructed spaces valuing over $1.8 billion, and with a total area of 2.17 million square feet. James Donaghy heads the firm as chairman, while Robert Mullen is its CEO. Together, they lead the company in working on some of the largest projects in New York City. Structure Tone is the core of a family of companies which include LF Driscoll, Structure Tone Southwest, Pavarini Construction Co., Pavarini McGovern and Govan Brown. The firm employs 350 professionals in New York, all of whom are trained in a “client first” mentality. Among its many accolades, Structure Tone received the ACEC Platinum Award
The Marriott NY EDITION Hotel is the first of a brand of modern luxury hotels in the Big Apple. Structure Tone converted the landmark MetLife Clock Tower from an office building to a 273-room hotel, which involved comprehensive exterior restoration and extensive interior renovations. It has been awarded Best Hospitality Project by Greater New York Construction User Council and Best Hospitality Project by ENR New York in 2015.
3) Omnibuild
213 West 35th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001
Since 2007, Omnibuild has been a market leader in New York’s construction industry, with a portfolio of more than 10,000 vertical feet and 3 million square feet of building space in the city. The firm specializes in new, out-of-the-ground, high-rise construction of commercial, residential and hotel spaces. The company is also a proud member of USGBC, having been involved with numerous LEED-certified projects. In 2016, Omnibuild was named to ENR‘s list of the top 400 contractors in America, and to Inc. Magazine’s Top 500 list of the fastest privately growing companies in America.
Omnibuild is currently constructing the Hyatt Place Hotel on 39th Street. It will feature 28 stories and 520 guest rooms, making it one of the largest hospitality additions to the Hell’s Kitchen district. It would include a ground floor restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating as well as private dining and two courtyards. The hotel is expected to be open in March 2019.
2) AECOM Tishman
100 Park Ave., 5th Flr, New York, NY 10017
As one of the oldest and most well-established builders in the Big Apple, AECOM Tishman has been responsible for some of the most iconic buildings in New York City. It was established in 1898 by Polish immigrant Julius Tishman and was incorporated in 1928 as Tishman Realty & Construction, an integrated real estate, and construction firm. In 2010, its construction arm, Tishman Construction Corporation, was sold to AECOM, forming the current firm. As of 2017, AECOM Tishman employs 1,200 professionals and had been responsible for 37 million square feet of projects in New York City. AECOM Tishman is a recipient of numerous awards, including ENR New York Best Project, ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards, and the top spot at Commercial Observer Top 10 Construction Firms of NYC
Tishman worked on the construction of some of the finest hotels in the city, including the InterContinental New York Times Square, designed by top architectural firm Gensler and completed in 2010, and the Baccarat Hotel & Residences at 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. Formerly the location of an existing branch of the New York Public Library, the site was demolished and in its place built three distinct developments stacked vertically above one another: a street-accessible public library, a nine-story luxury hotel within the podium, and tower condominiums. It also features a 65-foot swimming pool and a five-star restaurant/bar.
1) CNY Group
55 Water St, 51st Flr, New York, NY 10041
Kenneth and Steven Colao founded CNY Group in 2003. Specializing in construction services for new buildings, slender hi-rise structures, complex gut renovations, and interior programs, the firm currently serves diverse market sectors including hospitality and residential, commercial, office interiors, educational and health care, biotech, retail and cultural work. The principals’ varied experience as construction professionals leads them to gain a deep understanding of the visions and goals of clients and designers and execute them with the utmost quality. CNY is proud of its portfolio of successful projects not only within the New York metropolitan area but also around the world. ENR named CNY Group as New York’s Contractor of the Year in 2017.
Currently being constructed by CNY, the Marriott EDITION Times Square will be the second of its brand in the NYC. When opened, this 42-story mixed-use hospitality development will feature 452 guest rooms with four levels of public space including a 5,000-square-foot performance venue, a 1,900-square-foot meeting studio, a fitness center, a lobby lounge, and a selection of distinctive food and beverage outlets. The tower’s podium will be clad by a huge electronic screen, estimated to be the largest in the world.
