As Saturday gets underway, check out a selection of some of the top stories on Curbed this week.
1) Four Different Places: Olafur Eliasson freakin' waterfalls were finally turned on. Some people loved them. Some disliked them. A bunch said, "meh." A lot of Curbed readers think they look like "glorified fountains."
2) Chelsea: Finally, a set of new High Line renderings, especially these really cool ones of Phase II of everybody's favorite elevated park.
3) Chelesa: Will the 18th Street Plaza on the High Line be built? Well, the money has to be found, but it sure looks cool.
4) Williamsburg: The architects made some tweaks here and there, shaved the glass box on the roof and got a thumbs up on the modifications to the landmarked Domino plant on Kent Avenue. What do you mean the 40 story towers around it aren't in the renderings? Really?
5) Prospect Heights: The Atlantic Yards development moved a step closer to reality when the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on the eminent domain issue.
6) Coney Island: When was the last time you saw a city Scoping Hearing that wouldn't put people into a deep coma? The one about the Coney plan this week was one for the record books.
Yesterday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a revamped Beyer Blinder Belle design for the landmarked Domino Sugar plant in Williamsburg. The vote came after the commission sent the architects back to the drawing board with an earlier design. No such problems yesterday. The vote in favor was 7-1 with Commission Chair Robert Tierney calling the design "a brilliant, adaptive re-use plan with significant improvements from the other iterations we've seen." The one dissenting member called the design "genteel" and "too polite" for the building. (Brownstoner live blogged the hearing.) None of the renderings of the old refinery show the new buildings designed by Rafael Viñoly, some between 30-40 stories tall, that would surround it. Several historical significant structures, including the Adant House along Kent Avenue are still slated to be demolished. The entire project still needs to go through a full city land use review process and there is opposition in the community to the scale of the development.
· Domino Sugar is Gone, but Sign Will Live On After Ruling [NYT]
· Domino Sugar Redevelopment Moves Forward [Sun]
· Behold the New & Approved Old Domino Plan with Glass Box [Curbed]
This is rendering of the revised plan for the old Domino Sugar Plant in Williamsburg that was approved a little more than an hour ago by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. An earlier version was turned down. The design from Beyer Blinder Belle has some changes: the five-story glass addition to the 1884 building has been cut to four stories and been redesigned. The mechanical elements on top have been removed. The old Domino sign, which is currently on an adjacent building would be moved to the top of the landmarked structure. There are also balcony-type structures that have been added to the south side of the building. The other headline to come out of the meeting is that the developers expect to break ground in Fall 2009 on the massive project. The $1.3 billion project would ultimately have 2,200 units of housing. Brownstoner was on hand to live blog the LPC meeting and also has a set of photos and renderings from the session.
Looks like the plans for that big glass addition to the landmarked Domino Plant in Williamsburg have a way to go before they can ripen on the vine. The WPGA blog has a rundown on today's Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on the Beyer Blinder Belle proposal for altering the building. Rafael Viñoly who is the architect for the New Domino was even on hand. The Beyer architects compared their work to a variety of structures including the Tate Modern, but the LPC sent them back to the drawing board. Some felt the addition was "too tall" and "not the right design" and there was a consensus that the design is too "tame" and needs to be "more visionary" and emphasize the "industrial rigor" of the landmark. Translation: give us a call after you tweak it.
· LPC to Domino: Not Yet [WGPA]
· Domino's Glass Box Going Back to the Drawing Board? [Curbed]
· More New Domino: the Glass Box on Top [Curbed]
The plan for changes to the landmarked Domino Factory that would be at the center of Williamsburg's New Domino went in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday, and it looks like the five-story glass box full of condos developers want to put on top of the 12-story, 1884 building might be getting some tweaks before all is said and done. The Commission didn't vote on the plan, but it scheduled more discussions and gave no indication it was any hurry to approve the change. The Williamsburg Greenpoint Preservation Alliance reported, in fact, that "none of the Commissioners are ready to stand up and support" the addition. Landmarks Chair Robert Tierney also told the developer to "look hard" to find a place to preserve the iconic Domino Sugar sign.
[Renderings courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects; click to expand]
Another day, another Domino story. After flying below the radar for months, the proposal for the massive New Domino development on the Williamsburg waterfront is definitely back. First up, there are new high-quality renderings of the Rafael Viñoly plan for the site. This, in turn, leads to a second point about what isn't there: the Domino Sugar sign that has been a Williamsburg icon for generations. Residents and preservationists aren't happy about the omission. A spokesperson for the developer told the Daily News that "there are engineering complexities involved," although they would like to save it. Meanwhile, the proposal to add that five-story glass box to the top of the landmarked factory buildings goes before the Landmarks Preservation Commission today. Again, there is less than universal praise. Lisa Kersavage of the Municipal Art Society tells the Sun: "This very large glass addition just plunked onto the top of it is just not appropriate." More to come.
WILLIAMSBURG—Last week, when the photos of the renderings of Rafael Viñoly's plans for the Domino Sugar site in Williamsburg hit, a reader commented that "I'm scared these beautiful pixilated pez dispensers will just look plastic and cheap after the cost cutters come in." This, in turn, led another reader to email and say, "I read the comment about Domino looking like pez dispensers and was inspired." The result is an actual Pez dispenser with the towers that seems to blend well. [CurbedWire Inbox]
LOWER EAST SIDE—Another reader writes with a new word, saying: "In order to improve specifically the discussion and description of development in New York and generally the English language, I humbly submit the contribution of a new word, "loicide": Pronunciation: \ˈlô-çs-ˌsîd\ (or "Low(er) Eas(t) Side"). Etymology: from Spanglish, Loisada, from English, Lower East Side, + cide, Middle French, from Latin -cida, from caedere to cut, kill. Date: Early 21st century.
Back in the fall, part of the old Domino Plant on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg was landmarked without a lot of controversy. In the end, even the developers of the New Domino project were behind it. So, the five-story glass box that architects Beyer Blinder Belle would add to the building will get aired out before the Landmarks Preservation Commission tomorrow. The Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint & Williamsburg has posted a more renderings of and plans for the the historic factory building. Glass box or not, it would be surrounded by a lot of Rafael Viñoly apartment towers, which aren't shown in images.
Some renderings of what Rafael Viñoly and the developers have in mind for the Domino Sugar Plant site in Williamsburg have finally seen the light of day, and they certainly make an impression. Brownstoner got a bunch of shots of renderings that were shown at a community meeting in Williamsburg last night. The renderings show masonry towers with glass tops rising around the landmarked factory. The landmark itself would be radically modified with a five-story glass box growing from the top like a cousin of the Battery Maritime Building, but taller. The Daily News reports that "some frowned on the design," thinking it's "too boxy and too big," and the Landmarks Preservation Commission will have to approve the glass addition and other modifications. We await the detailed renderings in all their glory, but for now, we can't help but think it reminds us of a scandalous, tall love child of Co-op City and Domino, but without a pedestrian bridge to Manhattan.
The plans for the New Domino in Williamsburg were fleshed out a little bit today at a Landmarks Preservation Commission lunch by architect Rafael Viñoly. The headline: the developers said no to a pedestrian bridge to Manhattan. Now that we're past that, here's an account sent by a tipster who was in attendance:
He presented new (new to me) images of models of the entire redevelopment. Essentially it is similar to what we saw about 6 months ago. 4 large towers flank both sides of the old factory. However this scheme shows them as broken up so they read like 12 or so narrower towers. Smaller 6-10 story building complete the infill.
Yes, the old Domino Sugar plant in Williamsburg was landmarked last year, so now, the developers proposing the massive 'New Domino' project are going to the Landmarks Preservation Commission with changes to the Old Domino. The big main building would get a courtyard for "light and air" on the upper floors. (Retail and "community facilities" go on the lower three floors.) And the part of the building called the Filter House will get a five-story glass addition. The process will start with a presentation to the local community board at the end of the month and a Landmarks Commission hearing on February 5. The project, which would include more than 2,200 new apartments and towers up to 40 stories tall, still has to pass through many land use hoops. Some groups want to save the historic Adant House building, which would be demolished.
· CPC Files Plans for Refinery Expansion [WGPA]
· Domino Landmarked, but Project to Double Nabe Population [Curbed]
· Live from Domino Sugar: New Domino Detailed [Curbed]
Add about $600,000, give or take, of the cost of the $1.2 billion redo of the just-landmarked Domino plant on the Williamsburg waterfront. This morning's Post reports the developers have run up a tab of $577,000 lobbying city officials for the zoning changes they'll need to do the project, which will include up to 2,400 new apartments. The spending is for 2006. No estimate on the added cost of sugar this year. The report may leave a bitter taste with people in the neighborhood agitating for preservation of the iconic Domino sign. The developers have said they may not find a financially feasible way to save the sign.
· Domino Developers $weet on Lobbyists [NYP]
· Domino Landmarked, but Project to Double Nabe Population [Curbed]
Yesterday, parts of the old Domino Sugar factory on the Williamsburg waterfront were landmarked. Here's a quick look at some of the react:
1) "Well, there's still the problem of the vast majority of the site being un-protected and proposed for an ENORMOUS development (i.e. two 30-story towers and two 40-story towers) but this politely hands the mess over to City Planning to deal with."[Historic Districts Council Newsstand]
2) "Ironically, what is arguably the best-known feature of the plant, the large Domino Sugar sign facing the East River, is not a part of the landmark designation, nor the building from which it hangs." [CityRoom]
3) "The designation of the refinery is great news...We are excited that the Domino Sugar Refinery will actually be a part of the New Domino, and not just another branding opportunity." [WPA]
4) "The preservation of the Domino plant is a victory, but it could turn out to be a very bittersweet, if not hollow, one." [GL]
At left, Williamsburg's shuttered Domino Sugar Refinery, slated for residential and commercial redevelopment. At right, London's Tate Modern museum, slated for probably exhibiting a bunch of animals dipped in formaldehyde or something. So what's the connection? Well, on first glance they look fairly similar—waterfront, industry holdovers in major metropolitan areas. So if the former Bankside Power Station could be turned into a cultural institution and national treasure, why can't Domino be converted to the same? That's exactly what a group of Williamsburg artists have been proposing, according to the Sun and this YouTube slideshow. But while the idea of a Williamsburg cultural center that has nothing to do with cheap PBR specials and/or Todd P. sounds like a pretty cool idea, don't get your hopes up: it's all just a pipe dream for now.
· Domino Site Should Become A ‘Tate Modern,' Artists Say [Sun]
· Video: Domino Sugar - An Alternate Plan [YouTube]
· A Look Around the Old Domino [Curbed]
Developers of the Domino Sugar Refinery site on the Williamsburg waterfront welcomed press to the site this morning to hype their development plan, which calls for 2,200 apartment and the preservation of the original refinery building. Tragically, no new renderings of architect Rafael Viñoly's towering towers (above) were shown, nor did Viñoly himself deign to make an appearance (an underling from his office showed in his stead). A few new details were revealed, however. Timeline-wise, developers hope for land use review by this fall or early winter, with groundbreaking slated for late 2008 or early 2009. The project, budgeted at a mind-boggling $1.2-$1.3 billion, will take six to eight years to build out, with work proceeding from the south end to the north end of the site. Also of interest: the 11.2 acre site will feature four acres of open space, and 120,000 square feet of retail space—including some sort of food store. About 100,000 square feet will be set aside for community use. Yay, art!
Finally, on the preservation front, turns out megatecht firm Beyer Blinder Belle will be the architect of record for the refinery building preservation. And as to the Domino Sugar sign, developers confirmed that they're looking at ways to save it, even though they plan to tear down the Sugar Box building on which it hangs. (We're expecting it to grace the waterfront like the Pepsi-Cola signage at QueensWest a little ways north in Long Island City.) And stay tuned: we'll have photos from the tour, snapped by Curbed's Brooklyn editor Robert Guskind, later today.
· Scope Plan for the 'New Domino' Revealed [Curbed]
· Landmarking Progress Details on Williamsburg's 'New Domino' [Curbed]
· Domino Sugar Sign Could be Saved [Brooklyn Paper]
Comments
Yes, the old Domino Sugar plant in Williamsburg was 
Add about $600,000, give or take, of the cost of the $1.2 billion redo of the just-landmarked Domino plant on the Williamsburg waterfront. This morning's Post reports the developers have run up a tab of $577,000 lobbying city officials for the zoning changes they'll need to do the project, which will include up to 2,400 new apartments. The spending is for 2006. No estimate on the added cost of sugar this year. The report may leave a bitter taste with people in the neighborhood agitating for preservation of the iconic Domino sign. The developers have said they may not find a financially feasible way to save the sign.
Yesterday, parts of the old Domino Sugar factory on the Williamsburg waterfront 
