BREAKING! LPC Approves Historic Designation for Domino
Just moments ago, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to designate the Domino Sugar refinery building as a New York City Landmark, ending once and for all months of speculation about the historic manufacturing building’s fate. Although the site’s owner had in recent months come around to the idea of preserving the exterior of the…
Just moments ago, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to designate the Domino Sugar refinery building as a New York City Landmark, ending once and for all months of speculation about the historic manufacturing building’s fate. Although the site’s owner had in recent months come around to the idea of preserving the exterior of the refinery (which actually includes three buildings, the filter house, the pan house and the finishing house), today’s vote adds a nice layer of legal comfort to the development plan, which is still in the planning stages. One member of the commission said it was regrettable that the Domino’s iconic sign was not included in the designation but said she hoped it could be saved “through the powers of persuasion.” LPC Chair Robert Tierney said the factory “celebrates a time when industrial Brooklyn was king and Domino was its crown” and that the landmark designation “underscores LPC’s commitment to preserving industrial Brooklyn.” Update: On the jump, Michael Lappin, CEO of CPC Resources, provides the developer’s perspective on today’s news. Notice the preemptive strike at any attempt in the future to add any additional structures on the Domino site to the designation.
On LPC’s Plate Tomorrow… [Brownstoner] GMAP
CPC Shows and Tells Its Plans for Domino [Brownstoner]
Plans for ‘New Domino’ Released by City Planning [Brownstoner]
Domino photo by krad
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STATEMENT BY MICHAEL LAPPIN
PRESIDENT & CEO, COMMUNITY PRESERVATION CORPORATION /
CPC RESOURCES, INC.
New York, September 25, 2007 — CPC Resources applauds today’s action by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the former Domino Sugar refinery structure as an official landmark. This is an important first step toward the creation of a new waterfront development that is tied into the existing Williamsburg community. The New Domino reflects the true legacy of New York, providing a home where people of diverse economic and cultural backgrounds can live together and form welcoming, enduring communities.
While today’s designation will add significant cost to our development budget, we believe it also affirms the important balance between the new and the old. We plan on achieving this balance, the preservation of generous open space, and the community’s consistently articulated need for affordable housing – an objective that reflects CPC’s mission – all within the height guidelines of the Williamsburg-Greenpoint rezoning of 2005. In fact, the design we have proposed, which comprises 2,200 units including two 30-story towers and two 40-story towers, is what allows the entire project to be economically viable given the additional cost of the preservation.
We also agree with the Commission’s overall finding that the refinery complex alone represents the site’s historical significance. We look forward to transforming a site that has been walled off for a hundred years into a showpiece of affordable housing and park-like waterfront access for all.
While we’re all waiting an hour for the L train every morning, reflect on how great it is that 1/8 of housing is yet to be developed due to the “cost of design”. Whether you think it is beautiful or not, if it is empty, then it means slightly fewer people clogging up Williamsburg and our lacking transportation system…
And honestly, low income housing isn’t as casually delineated as you’re implying. They can’t just say, “we promise we’re eventually going to put it all in there…” and then build up the site around the existing factory. The Department of Buildings does have some standardization policies…
And no one would ever want to live in old factory buildings, either. What an absurd idea. Right.
The lack of vision here is staggering.
I think people come to New York to see great art at the Met, the Frick, MOMA, etc. and to see a Broadway show, and to shop and dine at amazing boutiques and restaurants.
Nobody is interested in seeing a derelict factory in Williamsburg. There are plenty of those all over the country.
no one is going to a museum in the middle of nowhere. I miss the old Purina storage vats much more than I would ever miss this building.
Brooklyn’s waterfront is full of history and this is a teeny tiny part of it. I would also be willing to bet there’s some sort of toxic sludge laying around on the site somewhere.
I’ve seen the inside of huge commercial baking and food factories and I’m betting that the Nabisco factory was much more than simply an open warehouse. We’re talking huge mixing vats, conveyer belts, ovens, packing machinery, more conveyer belts, specialized huge heavy machinery, pipes for water, waste, the works. OK, a sugar factory has huge machinery, I get that, but skilled factory demolition goes on all the time, I’m sure they can get the tools and the right people to do it. Using the factory’s interior as an excuse to not landmark it, or preserve it is a poor excuse.
I admit, I find much of the CPC project scary, but still, some preservation is better than none, and if nothing else, will be a precident for other future sites. Hopefully they will allow some creative minds to go for it, and do something worthy.
Preservationista
Uh, 7:40, et al – do you have the costs associated with preservation vs. demolition, or are you just working off the developer’s assertion? The fact is that there will be significant costs associated with demolition, remediation, etc. throughout the site. The refinery will essentially be a new building within an existing building – there are not significant incremental costs associated with remediation, since they are removing the entire interior. So – either way they have a lot of demolition, either way hey have a lot of new construction. The developer is crying about the costs of preservation, but hasn’t shown how that would be significantly more expensive than demolishing the building and replacing it with a 15 story apartment. (Yes, it will be more expensive, but CPC is making out like it will orders of magnitude more expensive – BS.)
Further, CPC is claiming that they comply with the waterfront rezoning, and that’s just a load of crap. The height and density on their waterfront site is marginally higher than what was approved for the rest of the neighborhood, but they are also asking for almost double theallowed height and density on their inland parcel.
CPC is looking to max out their FAR at the community’s expense, and crying poverty over preserving one building – one 12 story building on one half of one block of a 6 block development site. They bought an industrial site for less than $60 million, and even at the lower density of the existing waterfront zoning, and even with preservation, and even with half a block of (voluntary) open space, the cost per buildable square foot is a gift. Compare that to the $25+ million that the Dutch Mustard site went for.
Don’t get me wrong – this is a great project, but it is a great project because of the preservation, because of the open space, because of the affordable housing and (hopefully) because of the compliance with the actual waterfront rezoning.
7:40
I think you have just hit the nail on the head.
Attention Municipal Art Society: read the 7:4o post and get a clue.
Mmmmmm, panini….
Sure a “Tate Modern-Brooklyn” would be great. However neither the City, State or any cultural institution is stepping up. And since the land is owned by a private developer, unless someone is willing to pony up, they’re going to look for the biggest return on their investment. Now by landmarking this ugly, massive structure, you preservationists have almost guaranteed 40+ story sky scrapers to compensate for the loss of buildable land.