Last Summer, Two Trees bought the Domino Sugar Factory site in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn to be developed into a new mix-use master plan. The previously proposed scheme by Rafael Viñoly Architects (seen here) consisted of four large towers along the East River water front, but the design was largely disliked by the community, and as a result Two Trees hired SHoP Architects along with James Corner Field Operations to have a go at the design. The result is a wildly different scheme, consisting of five towers with 60% more open space along the water front, 631,000 square feet of new office space (versus the previous 98,000 square feet), and over two-thousand new apartments. This marks a huge change for what could be considered as the most important waterfront real estate in Brooklyn, and potentially become the new image of Brooklyn for the whole world.
By moving the new building footprints back on the site and extending River Street through the site, the new one-quarter-mile long open park space created along the waterfront will rival the Nelson Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City in size, with multiple public uses (kayak launches, picnic areas, beer gardens, etc.) and a public plaza for larger events such as fairs, performances, or even graduation ceremonies. The park will also include a section dedicated to using salvaged pieces and materials of the Domino Sugar Factory itself, apparently reminiscent in concept to that of the High Line in Chelsea. This new water front space plan will result in greater connectivity throughout the entire neighborhood and hope to maintain current community flow.
