Domino Sugar Factory reopens as an all-electric office building in Williamsburg

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Domino Sugar Factory reopens as office building in Williamsburg
The former Domino Sugar Factory plant along the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn will reopen as an office building. Kemberly Richardson has the story.

WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn (WABC) -- The former Domino Sugar Factory plant along the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is reopening as an office building.

Now named "The Refinery at Domino," it will run as an all-electric building.

While the 460,000-square-foot interior has been remodeled, the exteriors of the factory on Kent Avenue have been preserved.

The building is a mix of old and new after the 13-year, $150 million renovation.

At one point, the factory was one of the largest manufacturers of sugar in the world. But times changed and the industry and neighborhood along the East River experienced a shift.

The floor had been covered in decades' worth of molasses making the building smell like sugar up until recently when Two Trees Management took on the project in 2012.

"Along with Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, the team expertly created a glass building within the historic brick facade building, with a large-scale living landscape lining the interior that intimately connects people inside to the surrounding natural elements and greenery outside," a press release said.

The crown jewel is a glass dome penthouse with a view of the Williamsburg Bridge.

The city designated the Refinery as a landmark back in 2007. It closed in 2004.

Eyewitness News Vault: The Domino Sugar Factory closes - Watch the report from January 30, 2004

The Eyewitness News Vault takes you to January 30, 2004 when the Domino Sugar Factory closed.

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