NEW YORK, NY.- Rafael Viñoly Architects PC’s design for the New Domino celebrated a major milestone yesterday, as the project’s proposed zoning change was approved by the City Council of New York City. This vote allows the development, which will create 660 units of affordable housing and four acres of public park space including a riverfront esplanade along the East River in Brooklyn , to move forward. The mixed-income, mixed-used New Domino is sponsored by The Refinery LLC, with the Community Preservation Corporation’s (CPC) developmental subsidiary CPC Resources, Inc. (CPCR) as managing partner. The goal in undertaking the project is the development of a significant amount of affordable housing. The New Domino is set to break ground in 2011.
Rafael Viñoly Architects PC was commissioned in 2005 to design the master plan for the site of the former Domino Sugar Refinery complex and processing facilities, an unused industrial site just north of the Williamsburg Bridge that separates Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood from the East River . The firm’s master plan design transforms the industrial complex into a modular, mixed-use and residential development that emphasizes open space and public access to the river, while simultaneously preserving the landmark Refinery complex and the famed 40-foot high Domino Sugar sign by incorporating them into the master plan design.
Rafael Viñoly said, “We are proud of the cooperative process between the City of New York and the design and development team led by CPCR which achieved the rezoning approval integrating affordable housing and a waterfront park into the New Domino project along the Williamsburg waterfront.”
Under the master plan, the landmarked Refinery complex is preserved and adapted for new residential, commercial, and cultural uses. New apartment buildings, constructed in phases, flank the historic Refinery complex to provide the 2,200 proposed apartments, 30 percent of which are affordable housing units designated for lower-income families. The placement of these new residences on the site opens visual corridors and pedestrian access between the Brooklyn community and the waterfront.
A nearly one-acre open lawn, sited between the Refinery complex and the river, anchors a new public waterfront esplanade, connected at its north end to Grand Ferry Park and linking the development with the preexisting public spaces in the community. For the first time in over 150 years, the site will provide Williamsburg residents with access to open riverfront space and wide views of Manhattan , the Williamsburg , Manhattan , and Brooklyn Bridges , and the New York Harbor beyond.
A modular design allows for a variety of apartment complexes, similar in plan but extruded to different heights; elevations are kept low near the surrounding neighborhood and gradually increase in height to the spectacular waterfront buildings—two are 30 stories and two are 34 stories—that offer incomparable views of Manhattan and Brooklyn . The project’s green roofs provide not only residential amenities, but also environmental benefits such as controlled stormwater runoff and a diminished “heat island” effect. In reusing a former industrial site and targeting LEED Certification, the project is a model for sustainable development.
Rafael Viñoly Architects developed the overall master plan for the project as well as the concept design for all new buildings on the site. Beyer Blinder Belle developed architectural concepts for the Refinery complex, and Quennell Rothschild and Partners, LLP developed the landscape design.
