Long-Stalled, Huge 'Burg Project Showing Signs of Life

Is the Chetrit Group gearing up to finally start work on the massive Williamsburg development once dubbed “The Gateway to Williamsburg”? Signs are pointing to yes: Permits were recently filed for the blighted site, at 500 Metropolitan Avenue between Union and the BQE, and it looks like the tight-lipped developer is gearing up to build a hotel/residential/retail complex. The permit request, which is “pending zoning approval,” calls for 234 units and a max height of 14 stories to develop a “new mixed use building to include residential, transient and commercial uses.” The architect on the job is Gene Kaufman. The project has been on ice for years. Back in 2008, Meltzer/Mandl Architects was supposed to be designing it, and Duane Reade had reportedly inked a deal as an anchor tenant. Instead, it has become one of the biggest symbols of post-boom, developer-induced blight in Williamsburg (see inset), with a poorly maintained construction fence. It sits on the same block as Kellogg’s Diner and is in an extremely prime location next to the Metropolitan-Lorimer G and L-train stop. Curbed covered plans for the site, which was being referred to as “The Gateway to Williamsburg,” in detail before it became a non-starter in 2008. Meanwhile, the firm Winick Realty is actively marketing the commercial portion of the development, and their listing is where the rendering above comes from. The Chetrit Group has been in the headlines lately for its tactics involving longtime tenants of the Chelsea Hotel following its purchase of the Manhattan landmark.
502 Metropolitan Avenue Revealed [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
Rendering courtesy of Winick Realty