Jed Walentas and the Domino Sugar Factory

Union workers are accusing Two Trees Management of hiring a contractor with a suspect past and a history of lawsuits to handle asbestos removal at its massive Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment site in Williamsburg, Gothamist reported.

Local 78, which represents asbestos, lead and hazardous waste laborers, were quite vocal at Wednesday’s Community Board 1 Land Use meeting, according to Gothamist, and said that Two Trees had hired New York Insulation to remove asbestos at the site purely to save money.  [more]

From left: A rendering of the Domino project (credit: SHoP) and Jed Walentas

Two Trees Management’s Jed Walentas is temporarily turning over the Domino Sugar development site in Williamsburg for use as an urban farm, yoga studio, reading room and bicycle course, the Brooklyn Paper reported. The developer will not charge rent for the football field-sized plot, but the operators will need to pay utilities. [more]

The former Domino Sugar factory

Two Trees Management Company is pushing back its project at the old Domino Sugar Factory site an extra 100 feet from the East River to try to lessen the chance of damage from big storms like Hurricane Sandy, the New York Post reported. [more]

From left: Rafael Vinoly’s and SHoP Architects’ designs for the Domino Sugar site. Inset: Raphael Vinoly and SHoP’s Vishaan Chakrabarti

This week Two Trees Management revealed a new vision for its conversion of the Domino Sugar factory site in Williamsburg. Designed by SHoP architects, the revised plan has generally received positive, even enthusiastic reviews. Part of this response was a sense of relief, as the original proposal, designed by Rafael Vinoly, was roundly condemned for its dullness and insensitivity. [more]

Vishaan Chakrabarti of SHoP and a rendering of the Domino Sugar Factory site (Photo c/o SHoP Architects and James Corner Field Operations)

Now that the public has had a chance to gawk at Two Trees Management’s revised plans for the Domino Sugar factory in Williamsburg, the bold plans are seeing both sweet and sour reactions, according to the Brooklyn Paper. [more]

A rendering of the Domino Sugar Factory site (Photo c/o SHoP Architects and James Corner Field Operations)

Two Trees’ plan for the former Domino Sugar Factory site in Williamsburg will deviate significantly from the already approved plans, and will add 60 percent more open space, create taller and more slender buildings, expand the amount of office space, and allow affordable housing residents to access to the same amenities as people in market-rate apartments, Curbed and Capital New York reported.  [more]

Jed Walentas and the Domino Sugar Factory

Two Trees Management has modified its all-residential plan for the former Domino Sugar Factory site in Williamsburg and will now include office space for up to 4,000 workers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company acquired the 11-acre site in October for $185 million and has solicited community input on possible uses. The office proposal, Two Trees principal Jed Walentas told the Journal, would help make the project a more vibrant development than the several apartments-only sites that have sprung up in the neighborhood in recent decades. “They don’t make great urban places, they don’t integrate into the neighborhoods,” Walentas said. … [more]

Two Trees’ Jed Walentas and the Domino Sugar factory

Two Trees Management is soliciting proposals for an interim use of a 55,000-square-foot swath of the Domino Sugar site in Williamsburg, Curbed reported. The request for proposals for the site, dubbed Site E, will go live tomorrow. The parcel is a vacant lot located on Kent Avenue between South 3rd and South 4th streets. It will be available come this March for a year or more. [more]

From left: Two Trees’ Jed Walentas and the Domino Sugar Factory

Two Trees Management has begun the process of meeting with North Brooklyn residents to discuss the development of the Domino Sugar factory on the Williamsburg waterfront, Brownstoner reported. The developers most recently met with the community to get local residents’ input on the 3.2 acres of open space that’s part of the redevelopment plan. [more]

Domino Sugar plant

Now that Two Trees Management has closed on the $185 million purchase of the Domino Sugar factory site on the Williamsburg waterfront, the company hopes to change significantly the current design of the project, the Wall Street Journal reported. [more]