NEW YORK | Domino Sugar | 535 + 530 + 518 + 450 FT | 53 + 51 + 43 + 42 FLOORS

[NYguy]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...TATE/131109967

Commission certifies Domino Sugar plan
Revamped plans for the 11-acre site on the Williamsburg waterfront were certified by the City Planning Commission on Monday,
clearing the way for a lengthy public review of the project. Construction could start as soon as late 2014.





By Joe Anuta
November 4, 2013

An application for the redevelopment of the hulking Domino Sugar refinery on the Williamsburg waterfront was certified by the City Planning Commission on Monday afternoon. The approval clears the way for the ambitious plan by developer Jed Walentas and his company Two Trees Management to begin the city's labyrinthine public review process. The developer hopes to break ground on the 11-acre, mixed-use project as soon as the end of next year.

The proposal envisions construction of four buildings plus a revamp of the existing landmarked structure into a total of 2.3 million square feet of residential space, more than 500,000 square feet of office space and more than 70,000 square feet of retail space along the East River just north of the Williamsburg Bridge. Two Trees bought the site, which included approvals for a massive development, from CPC Resources for $185 million a year ago, but decided to go back to the drawing board. The developer put aside its predecessor's plans for a series of 30 to 40-story towers, in favor of an approach that drew more on Two Trees' success in transforming another formerly-industrial Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood, Dumbo, over the last 20 years.

"We thought we could do a better plan, a plan that better reflects our philosophy for development," said David Lombino, director of special projects for the firm.

Drawing on the Two Trees' success of turning Dumbo into a destination for creative and tech tenants, which in turn created a bustling commercial and retail district, the developer significantly upped the amount of office space it will add at the Domino site. Current plans call for enough space to house about 2,700 workers, nearly triple the area's existing office space and creating what Mr. Walentas has said will hopefully be a more balanced and sustainable community.

To draw up its plans, Two Trees brought in SHoP Architects, which significantly changed the shape of the buildings. The new design calls for taller, slimmer structures with large cut outs, designed to maintain the community's views of Manhattan and increase light and open space.

"They are designed to break the monotony of these 35-story, non-descript towers that are marching down the waterfront from Long Island City," said Mr. Lombino.

[NYguy]

Some new graphics...


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[antinimby]

Watch the crazy NIMBY's come out and fight this plan.

[ablerock]

Sweet. Thanks for posting those images. I love this project.

Have they talked about the timeline for the phases outlined in the image below yet? I couldn't find any mention in a cursory search.

Originally Posted by NYguy

Some new graphics...

8.

[Duck From NY]

Originally Posted by antinimby

Watch the crazy NIMBY's come out and fight this plan.

Right now it's just a place for teenagers to smoke pot and drink beer.

[dumbo]

For outer boroughs development, the design isn't bad. I just wish they'd keep the part in front of the main factory building with the huge pipes and stuff. Honestly, thats the coolest part.

[j-biz]

Originally Posted by Duck From NY

Right now it's just a place for teenagers to smoke pot and drink beer.

Only the most intrepid would even attempt. It mostly just sits there and rots behind barbed wire.

As a Williamsburg resident, I'm already anticipating that special breed of blight nostalgia-fantasy that so beleaguers the neighborhood. Admittedly, most of the new development here is truly horrendous. Just up the river, the EDGE condos have left a bad taste in most mouths, mine included. And if you've walked down Union Ave lately (aka Karl Fischer Row), you start to get an idea of where the hostility toward developers comes from. That said, it's a real shame that when something cool finally does come around, it's treated with the same knee-jerk mentality.

But hey, what can you expect? It's a neighborhood struggling to find its identity that was for decades defined by urban decay and the underground. People are wont to hold on to their culture, even if it's a bit displeasing.

Anyway, I'm confident this plan will win out in time. Two Trees just really needs to sell the waterfront access.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ablerock

Have they talked about the timeline for the phases outlined in the image below yet? I couldn't find any mention in a cursory search.

Yes, there is a schedule that my eyes didn't want to look at. Work is to begin in 2014.

Page 312.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/env_..._tech_memo.pdf

[Duck From NY]

Originally Posted by dumbo

For outer boroughs development, the design isn't bad. I just wish they'd keep the part in front of the main factory building with the huge pipes and stuff. Honestly, thats the coolest part.

I love the huge pipe thing that protrudes and curves down toward the ground. It'd be cool if some creative person could come up with a use for it, but unfortunately that probably won't happen. I think we're lucky to keep the Factory to be honest.

Originally Posted by j-biz

Only the most intrepid would even attempt. It mostly just sits there and rots behind barbed wire.

Well they hang out where the streets end at the waterfront (like S.5th St.) from what I've seen on several occasions.

I hope you're right that these great designs will be appreciated in time.

[ablerock]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Yes, there is a schedule that my eyes didn't want to look at. Work is to begin in 2014.

Page 312.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/env_..._tech_memo.pdf

Good gosh, you weren't kidding. Thanks for posting. I also gathered that the phase letters don't correlate with the order they'll be built in. Was I reading that correctly?

(Documents like that just show how much work goes into these projects and development is not for the haphazard or disorganized!)

[NYguy]

^ That schedule is probably flexible...



http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/11/...use-committee/

Domino Sugar project gets thumbs up from land use committee





Julie Strickland
November 26, 2013

Community Board One’s land use committee gave Two Trees’ Domino Sugar Factory conversion plan the green light last night in a seven-to-one vote.

Two Trees’ promise to include 660 units of affordable housing reportedly went over well with the board, which also recommended hiring locally for the project and suggested a redistribution of the development’s affordable housing units. The current plan would place one fifth of the affordable units in the development’s first tower rather than spreading them evenly among all five.

Two Trees launched the ULURP process at the beginning of November, and the proposal will go before the full community board for review in the coming weeks.

And now for more useless alternatives...


http://www.archdaily.com/451552/hao-...-s-waterfront/

HAO Makes Counter-Proposal To “Save” Sugar Factory from Development in Brooklyn





24 Nov2013
by Jose Luis Gabriel Cruz

HAO, together with community group, Williamsburg Independent People, hope to save the historic Domino Sugar Factory site and halt the current masterplan by SHoP Architects which proposes an additional 2,200 luxury apartments along the East River waterfront in Brooklyn, New York.

HAO’s counter proposal seeks to adaptively reuse the existing factory buildings, including the iconic Civil War-era Domino Sugar Refinery — which has defiantly held its ground amidst heavy redevelopment in surrounding areas. Not unlike SHoP’s proposal, HAO aims to regenerate these spaces into a “world-class cultural destination” that combines public and private programs.

The difference, however, is in scale. The current master plan envisions five residential towers that rise 600 feet to, according to SHoP, create “a new skyline for Brooklyn — one that relates to the height of the Williamsburg Bridge and scales down to meet the neighborhood.”

The counter proposal is a defiantly smaller scale — adapting to the average building heights of the surrounding area – reminiscent of Beijing’s 798 Art District with Bauhaus-inspired, sawtooth-like roof-scoops. “We explored possibilities that would open up the site and create a vibrant, mixed and cultural destination. We believe that, destinations like the 798 Art District and the Tate Modern, the Domino Sugar Factory has the potential to attract millions of visitors every year.”

HAO’s counter proposal captures approximately 700,000 square feet of publicly accessible gallery space (surpassing even the MoMA by 70,000 square feet). The proposal divides the site into two general zones: a green energy technology center, educational, community and hotel-driven programming are located near the south; to the north, publicly accessible private museum space, exhibition and theater space.

For now, the counter proposal is merely an alternative. HAO and local Brooklynites, however, believe that to create a sustainable and revitalized Williamsburg, the city should reconsider caving in to mega-luxury-developments.

[fleonzo]

You gotta love these Socialists and their bright ideas especially when it's NEVER their money at stake!

[chris08876]

In a city with a housing demand idk y these people want to preserve a crappy factory. These new residents will only improve the area.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by chris08876

In a city with a housing demand idk y these people want to preserve a crappy factory. These new residents will only improve the area.

It's beyond mind boggling. What do you do when there is demand for 2000 higher end apartments? Not build them? Instead of letting this factory rot and the site stagnate the project will: bring about (IMO, cool looking architecture), revitalize a vast swath of waterfront, infuse a tremendous amount of money into the economy, add millions and millions to the local tax base and attract more and more people to live in the area.

You know, I actually like the idea put forth by the group, but let them do it on their own dime or sell the idea to another party and let this project rise.

[cadiomals]

I just don't get the donut shaped building is all, doesn't seem to fit the rest of the plan. Otherwise, a fine looking complex.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by fleonzo

You gotta love these Socialists and their bright ideas especially when it's NEVER their money at stake!

It always amazes me, they come up with these "great" plans only after someone has revealed what they are going to build. If the alternative plans (for someone else's property) they come up with are so great, let them go and find a site and the money to implement them. In the meantime, stfu and let those that do build things go about building them.

[antinimby]

Originally Posted by chris08876

In a city with a housing demand idk y these people want to preserve a crappy factory. These new residents will only improve the area.

Their true ulterior motive is not about preserving the factory. Like most NIMBY's in this city, they are against the influx of new people coming into the area. That's why they hate height because it equates to them, a large number of people will be moving in since a large building will house more people than a smaller one. That's why they become fixated on height, building size and density.

They only use shadows, open space, transportation, environment, preservation, views, neighborhood character, etc. as excuses for their arguments against development.

If someone came along and said they'd raze the factory and turn it into perpetual open space, they'd be all for that.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by NYguy

It always amazes me, they come up with these "great" plans only after someone has revealed what they are going to build. If the alternative plans (for someone else's property) they come up with are so great, let them go and find a site and the money to implement them. In the meantime, stfu and let those that do build things go about building them.

yep. If you want social housing, thats fine, but go work it out as a project to add social housing to the area, not a last minute push to try and not have a bunch of highrises built.

[Camstonisland]

Hey Bill!
Yes?
Want to go to the Domino Sugar Plant?
Of course, It is the best place in town! Everyone likes Domino Sugar Plant
Screw Hudson Yards and Coney Island!

If only sucrose production facilities were this much of an attraction...

[Design-mind]

Does restoring the old Domingo plant gain the project a LEED status?