Inside and Outside Domino Sugar Refinery
With a local Community Board vote expected later this month, the developers behind the Domino Sugar Refinery project invited the media on a tour of the Williamsburg site yesterday morning. While we had hoped that the tour would afford us Wonka-esque access to the vast refinery interior, the almighty insurance companies made damn sure the deteriorating structure remained off-limits. But they sent over some interior photos today, explaining that "the majority of the buildings are filled with large machinery, much of which spans multiple floors. Also, the majority of the buildings do not have solid floors, and instead, machinery is connected to walls and pillars with cat-walks and metal flooring." Enough—can't you see you're torturing Jake Dobkin!
Monday's tour began with a look at a scale model of the mixed-use residential and retail development proposed at the location. If approved, developers expect to spend $1.2 billion to transform the vacant 11-acre industrial site into a complex with a public waterfront esplanade and 2,200 apartments, 30% of which would be set aside for low- and moderate-income families. Last week some critics at the local community board worried that the affordable housing component might just be a temporary arrangement. But at yesterday's presser, CPC Resources Senior V.P. Susan Pollock announced that the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Zoning changes require the afforable units to remain so permanently.
When asked about fears that the project's density would overwhelm the area's already taxed public transportation system, Pollack said they're anticipating increased ferry service to the area, and pointed to the MTA's proposal to replace the M train with the V, theoretically giving Domino residents a direct link to midtown from Marcy Avenue and alleviating pressure on the L. The project also calls for 1,700 parking spaces in four garages, a winter skating rink, two playgrounds, 14,000 square feet of community space, and four acres of public park space, which would connect with Grand Ferry Park.
