The City Council today approved the much-debated
$1.5 billion plan to turn the crumbling Domino Sugar refinery into a
residential development on the Williamsburg waterfront, the New York
Times reported. The towers are substantially smaller than originally
proposed, but the developer of the New Domino — CPC Resources, a
for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit Community Preservation
Corporation –  will still set aside 660 apartments out of 2,200
for low- and moderate-income tenants and retain the historic 40-foot
tall Domino sugar sign atop the central refinery building. The council
voted unanimously to approve changes in the local zoning law that would
allow the project to move forward after nearly six years of planning,
hearings and delays. Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly, the two
tallest towers on the 11-acre site — bound by Kent Avenue and the East
River, and South 3rd Street and South 4th Street — will be 34 stories,
down from 40. The other two towers at New Domino will be 30 stories
tall. The project also includes community space, office space and a
small park. Plans for the defunct refinery had drawn criticism from local politicians because of the proposed height of the towers, and concern over the amount of affordable housing units, but those issues were resolved in the current plan. [NYT]

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The Domino sign

With the City Council set to vote Thursday on the Domino Sugar Factory
condominium development’s plans, insiders say that fewer than expected
affordable housing units may make the cut, according to the New York
Post. The vote, which would grant a zoning change to allow for the $1.5
billion Williamsburg development, is expected to be approved by the
council. Still, the zoning change proposal includes no provisions
guaranteeing that 30 percent of the 2,200 apartments will be
affordable, as developer CPC Resources had previously promised.
This constitutes a major risk, affordable housing advocates say,
allowing CPC a loophole to back out of its affordable housing pledge.
The project is expected to break ground next year, with various phases
of construction set to extend over the next 10 years.

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As the Domino Sugar factory redevelopment plan nears the end of its approval process, the debate between city officials and community activists over the project, which would transform the erstwhile sugar factory into a 2,200-unit apartment complex near the Williamsburg Bridge, is heating up, according to the New York Times. Those in support of the $1.4 billion project say that the 660 affordable units earmarked for the development will be a boon to the community, while opponents claim the area is already overbuilt. Developer CPC Resources has fended off recent claims that the project is more of a money-making machine than an altruistic endeavor — a secret report compiled by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development suggested that CPC stands to make more than $400 million from the project. [NYT]

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As the Domino Sugar factory redevelopment plan nears the end of its approval process, the debate between city officials and community activists over the project, which would transform the erstwhile sugar factory into a 2,200-unit apartment complex near the Williamsburg Bridge, is heating up, according to the New York Times. Those in support of the $1.4 billion project say that the 660 affordable units earmarked for the development will be a boon to the community, while opponents claim the area is already overbuilt. Developer CPC Resources has fended off recent claims that the project is more of a money-making machine than an altruistic endeavor — a secret report compiled by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development suggested that CPC stands to make more than $400 million from the project. [NYT]

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Susan Pollock, SVP of CPC, and Domino Sugar Factory sign

CPC Resources, the development team looking to transform the one-time Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg into a residential complex, is fighting back against a secret report compiled by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which claims that CPC stands to make more than $400 million from the project, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The report, which was compiled in 2006 but only became public this week, said that CPC could make as much as $447 million from the 2,200-unit building, despite the developer’s promise to keep 660 of those units permanently affordable. [more]

From left: Michael Lappin, CPC Resources Senior Vice President Susan Pollock and the Domino sign

The developers of the Domino Sugar Refinery site on the Williamsburg waterfront responded to one of the project’s main criticisms — that its 660 affordable apartments would become market-rate after 15 years — by saying today that housing would permanently stay affordable. Susan Pollock, senior vice president of project developer CPC Resources, said the about-face came after realizing the rezoning for Williamsburg and Greenpoint passed in 2005 required waterfront developers to include permanent, not temporary, affordable housing in their projects in order to receive a density bonus. Although the five-block Domino site, once the world’s largest sugar refinery, was not included in that rezoning, Pollock said they promised to follow those rules for the project’s 660 affordable apartments, out of 2,200 condos and rental units spread throughout six buildings that would be constructed over a 10-year period. [more]