City Planning Certifies Domino Sugar Waterfront Dev.

administrator — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:53:57 +0000

WILLIAMSBURG — City Planning late Monday approved the new Domino Sugar Refinery Plan. It will now begin its way through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), seeking approval by Community Board 1, Borough President Marty Markowitz, the Planning Commission and City Council.

Known as “The New Domino,” the plan calls for for an 11.2-acre, 2,200-unit mixed-income community with 660 units (30 percent) of affordable housing, generous open space, access to the waterfront and riverside promenade, according to Michael Lappin, president and CEO of Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), the developer, with CPC Resources Inc. (CPCR) as managing partner.

Architect Rafael Viñoly has created a stunning modular design, Lappin said, that incorporates the landmarked refinery and the famed 40-foot-high Domino Sugar sign. Beyer Blinder Belle has designed the striking three- and four-story glass addition to the refinery itself.

Read more: http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=5&id=32769

At an Old Warehouse, a Reversal of Fortune

administrator — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:00:14 +0000

ONE thing that the owners of the Austin, Nichols & Company warehouse at 184 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, were firm about throughout the long battle over the building’s fate three years ago was that it was not historically valuable. The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which declared the 1915 structure a landmark, disagreed, but the City Council took the rare step of overruling the commission and siding with the owners.

A lawyer for the owners, the Kestenbaum family, called the warehouse an eyesore. Councilman David Yassky, who helped lead the fight against designating the building a landmark, described the warehouse as “a nondescript white box,” indistinguishable from anything else on the Williamsburg waterfront. When the mayor stepped in to preserve the warehouse, the Council overrode him, too.

Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/nyregion/thecity/11aust.html

Williamsburg is Dead! » Renovations

City Planning Certifies Domino Sugar Waterfront Dev.

At an Old Warehouse, a Reversal of Fortune