These include a hotel in the iconic "Clock Tower" building in Manhattan's Flatiron District, which Marriott acquired for $165 million and plans to begin renovating late this year; projects under construction in Bangkok and Abu Dhabi; and signed contracts for hotels in Los Angeles and Gurgaon, India. Development of the brand, first announced in 2007 as a
collaboration with boutique hotel guru Ian Schrager, has been "slowed by the global economic downturn," according to Marriott president and COO Arne Sorenson. Marriott already began construction on Edition hotels in Miami and London and has one property open in Istanbul.