From left: Joseph Chetrit, 500 Metropolitan Avenue and Gene Kaufman

The Chetrit Group has resumed construction at the stalled 500 Metropolitan Avenue site in Williamsburg, Brownstoner reported. The 15-story project will be mixed-use, with 148 hotel rooms and 81 residential units. Work appears to have started on the foundation, Brownstoner said. [more]

Gene Kaufman and 70 and 90 Columbus Street

Construction will begin in the next two months at a long-stalled 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use project in Jersey City, the architect for the project told The Real Deal today. The two 50-story towers, designed by Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman + Associates Architects, were approved by the Jersey City Municipal Council and Planning Board in December, clearing the way for the massive project to move ahead, according to Gene Kaufman, owner of GSKA. [more]

Gene Kaufman and 125 West 28th Street (credit: PropertyShark)

Gene Kaufman has built himself a mini-empire around West 28th Street. The architect is behind the design of the hotel rising at 125 West 28th Street, directly next to a Kaufman-designed Holiday Inn Garden at 121 West 28th Street and in front of another Kaufman-designed building, New York YIMBY reported. [more]

From left: 300 Schermerhorn Street and Gene Kaufman

Two empty lots in Downtown Brooklyn will become hotels designed by Gene Kaufman with completion set for 2014, Brownstoner reported.

The Department of Buildings approved plans last year for a 182-unit building at the corner of Nevins and Schermerhorn streets, the blog said. Queens-based Barone Management bought the site in January for $4.5 million, according to city records. [more]

From the July issue: 

Gene Kaufman and 70-90 Columbus Streets

Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman & Associates has unveiled a new design for a planned 1.2 million-square-foot development project in downtown Jersey City (see rendering to the right). The firm was recently selected by Ironstate Development and partner Panepinto Properties to replace Costas Kondylis as the architect of two 50-story residential and hotel towers planned for 70 and 90 Columbus Street in Jersey City.

Ironstate chose GSKA after it successfully designed the firm’s development of a W hotel in Hoboken, according to James Ronga, vice president of development for Ironstate. Gene Kaufman, a principal at GSKA, told The Real Deal in a statement that his firm is working with the same footprint and square footage, but will make “qualitative modifications that result in a project with a distinct geometry and a plan that better integrates the site into the Jersey City community.” [more]

The Bossert Hotel

Developer and landlord David Bistricer has filed plans to turn the Bossert Hotel in Brooklyn Heights back into a 302-unit hotel, according to Department of Buildings records cited by Brownstoner. Architect Gene Kaufman, who is behind the Hotel Chelsea’s restoration, is the architect of record to convert the building, which is used as a residence for Jehovah’s Witnesses volunteers. [more]

Gene Kaufman and a rendering of the revamped Hotel Chelsea

Architect Gene Kaufman presented his renovation plan for the Hotel Chelsea to the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday, Curbed reported, but most of the feedback came from residents and politicians who attended the hearing. The most controversial aspect of the plan was a 16-foot high glass and aluminum 3,800-square-foot rooftop addition to the landmarked building at 222 West 23rd Street. [more]

502 Metropolitan Avenue

A Chetrit Group development site that has long illustrated the consequences of the boom years in Williamsburg appears to finally be ready for construction, according to Brownstoner. [more]

A rendering of the proposed restoration of the Hotel Chelsea

Gene Kaufman Architect, who is leading the restoration of the facade of the Hotel Chelsea, will present its plan for the landmarked exterior to the Landmarks Preservation Commission this April, and provided The Real Deal with a rendering (see above).

“The Hotel Chelsea is a landmark in every sense of the word,” said Kaufman, a prolific architect who heads GKA. “We are honoring the long, storied history of this singular building while ensuring that it survives and thrives. [more]