2022 Women in Construction: Tammy Ching, Samanea New York

Name: Tammy Ching

Title: Director of Tenant Management - Samanea New York

Company Name: Samanea New York

What was your greatest professional achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months?
My greatest professional achievement in the past 12 months was building the first 99 Ranch Market in New York State, which is a 45,602 s/f supermarket that will be the second anchor tenant to open at Samanea New York in over 20 years. The property is an iconic location that was once the former Source Mall where the beloved Fortunoff Department Store was located. Now, I’ve been working with a stellar team to repurpose the property with entertainment, restaurant, and retail tenants, including the only Bloomingdale’s Furniture Outlet in the U.S. that I helped open during the pandemic in September 2020. These achievements, with more to come, will create economic and employment benefits to the local Westbury community for years to come.

Why should women consider a career in construction?
A career in construction can be highly rewarding and is best suited for those who are organized, enjoy taking on challenges, and have an understanding of design and perspectives. Most of all though, they must possess an excellent attention to detail. I believe women have an enate sense to see the bigger picture and focus on the end result, and in an industry that is predominantly controlled by men, a women’s natural ability to bring a project together and connect with the needs of clients can add significant value to achieving the end result.

Starting out in the construction business, who or what empowered you?
I spent many years working to design and construct luxury department stores, which included extensive coordination and participation from all levels of management. Planning and building each department store empowered me and this included all of the phases involved, from the initial drawings and planning, to watching the build-out evolve and then witnessing the grand openings—I find so much of what I do empowering!

Who within your own firm has helped you succeed within the construction industry?
Dominic Coluccio, our chief leasing & development officer at Samanea New York has helped me succeed within the construction industry. Since joining the team, Dominic and I have worked together to repurpose this iconic property and transform a once dormant mall into a unique lifestyle destination. Based on our synergies and cross collaborations between leasing and construction, we both allow each other to be creative and think “outside the box” in order to achieve extensive and complex landlord and tenant build-outs. To date, we have tripled the occupancy rate to 67%, and are creating first-time-market tenants including 99 Ranch Market, Bloomingdale’s Furniture Outlet, X-Golf, Empire Adventure Park, and a newly signed state-of-the-art rock-climbing gym, The Gravity Vault.

What advice would you offer to other women getting into the construction industry?
First, since this is predominantly a male industry, I would advise women to not be intimidated and embrace their superior talent to spearhead and construct successful projects. In the past, it may have appeared that women would have to work harder and prove themselves in order to get noticed, but times have changed, and talented women are being more noticed in every aspect of the construction business. No matter what industry, women should focus on their professional goals and be surrounded by positive, like-minded colleagues. It may feel discouraging at times, but I promise that time will show the results.