Benita Welch, AIA

Principal

Benita Welch, AIA, named a principal of Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel, Architects, DPC in 2009, has led a wide range of projects with a diverse client base. From affordable housing developments to high-end hospitality work, from tenant fit-outs for city agencies and non-profits to corporate interior design, she relies on her belief that the quality of our built environment adds value to our everyday lives.

Recent projects include 425 West 18th Street, a mixed-use building with 160 affordable apartments, 40 East End Avenue, a 29-unit luxury condominium and the conversion of a warehouse into office space for the New York City Housing Authority. Over the years, Benita has especially developed her knowledge of historic preservation by leading projects such as the Samuel Tredwell Skidmore House conversion to luxury apartments, the Bowery Savings Bank lobby restoration and The Beekman Hotel, an adaptive reuse of a 19th century office building to an award-winning 287-key hotel. Each of these buildings and spaces are individual NYC Landmarks and on the National Register of Historic Places.

As a member of WX, New York Women Executives in Real Estate, Benita is on the Scholarship Committee and serves as a mentor. She was also honored with the DeWitt Stern Local Hero Award from ART/NY for her dedication to the restoration of the non-profit’s Brooklyn office and rehearsal studio building. Benita has been an avid bicyclist all her life. She believes that the best way to get to a job site, in addition to reducing her carbon footprint, is on a bike.