Rendering of the approved Domino Development proposed by Two Trees Management. Image credit: SHoP Architects.

Unanimous City Planning approval followed behind the scenes deal between Mayor de Blasio and Two Trees Management. On March 5, 2014, the City Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve special permits and a zoning text amendment requested by Two Trees Management to transform the Domino Sugar Refinery into a 2,928,429 sq. ft. mixed-use development. The predominantly residential large scale development will include commercial and community facility uses. The City Planning vote followed an announcement by Mayor Bill de Blasio on March 3rd, stating that the City had reached an agreement with Two Trees to significantly increase the amount of affordable housing units in the development. (more…)

Rendering of the approved Domino Development proposed by Two Trees Management. Image credit: SHoP Architects

Council Members criticize Domino Sugar project despite “deeper affordability.” On April 24, 2014, the City Council Land Use Committee voted 19-0 to approve an application by Two Trees Management to redevelop the Domino Sugar Refinery into a 2.2 million sq. ft. residential, retail, and commercial office spaces with several acres of public esplanade and parkland along the East River waterfront. (See more CityLand coverage here.) The Land Use Subcommittee for Zoning and Franchises voted 9-0 to approve the project. (more…)

Updated rendering of new proposed Domino redevelopment. Image courtesy of SHoP Architects.

Landmarks endorsed project with modifications that better displayed factory’s industrial character, and  historic sign and chimney. On January 14, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to issue Two Trees Management a Certificate of Appropriateness to convert the Domino Sugar Refinery for commercial and office use. The plan includes glass-and-steel additions on two roofs, demolition of non-historic accretions, and the creation of windows and balconies. The adaptive reuse of the former factory is part of a larger development on the Williamsburg waterfront approved by the City Council in 2010. Landmarks approved a proposal for the site in 2008, which would have converted the building to residential use.  The approved project was never realized and the developer sold the structure to Two Trees later that year. (more…)

CPC Resources Inc.’s New Domino project at the former Domino Sugar plant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Image Courtesy: Rafael Vinoly Architects.

Community coalition failed to stop 11-acre mixed-use development at Domino Sugar Refinery site along Williamsburg waterfront. CPC Resources proposed to develop a 2,200-unit mixed-use project on the Domino plant site. The 11.2-acre site includes two parcels of land. The first is located along the East River between Grand and South 5th Streets, bordered to the east by Kent Avenue. The second, smaller parcel is bounded by South 3rd and South 4th Streets and Wythe and Kent Avenues. The Domino Sugar Refinery Building, located at 292 Kent Avenue, was landmarked in 2007 and will be redeveloped by CPC Resources as part of the proposal. The plan will provide public waterfront access, ground floor retail space along Kent Avenue, underground parking, office space, and 2,200 residential units. CPC Resources promised to market 30 percent of the apartments as affordable housing. The site had been targeted for development since 2007 and the City approved CPC Resources’ plan in 2010. (more…)

Addition to landmark factory applauded by Commissioners. After a contentious hearing in February 2008 over a plan by Community Preservation Corporation to build a five-story glass addition to the Domino Sugar Refinery building, Landmarks asked Community Preservation to amend its proposal. 5 CityLand 29 (Mar. 15, 2008). The addition to the Domino factory is only one component of Community Preservation’s plan, which also includes five 40-story residential towers, 120,000 sq.ft. of retail space, and publicly accessible open space on the East River.

On June 24, architect Fred Bland, of Beyer Blinder Belle, presented a new plan by Community Preservation, taking into account Landmark’s criticisms of the previous proposal. Instead of a five-story addition with prominent bulkheads, the new addition would be split asymmetrically into three and four stories. Bulkheads would be retracted into the addition, minimizing their visibility. Aesthetically, the new addition would be done in a “robust, industrial style,” as opposed to the previous “sleek” incarnation. Holes in the building’s fabric, once occupied by chutes, would host balconies made of glass and steel that would “preserve the scars of the building.” The revised plan would also retain the iconic 40-foot tall Domino Sugar sign. (more…)