Though it’s not slated to open until this summer, new renderings of Domino Park, the waterfront esplanade of the Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment, have been released by developer Two Trees Management.
The quarter-mile Domino Park will open in June, ahead of the waterfront buildings that are also part of the Domino Sugar Factory project “as promised to the surrounding North Brooklyn community,” Two Trees said.
The park was designed by Two Trees and landscape architecture firm James Corner Field Operations, who also helmed development of Manhattan’s High Line.
The north end of Domino Park will be home to a five-block-long Artifact Walk that will feature more than 30 large-scale pieces of salvaged factory equipment and other relics from the site’s past as one of the largest sugar refineries in the world.
From South 2nd Street to Grand Street at the northern end of Domino Park will be a passive recreation area that will house a Japanese Pine garden leading to the Artifact Walk, a picnic area that can fit up to 100 people, a food kiosk, children’s play space that will be inspired by sugar refining, a large lawn and an “urban beach” with a shaded lawn and chaise lounges.
Water Square will offer five gathering spots for parkgoers, and a four-tiered seating area will give bird’s eye views of the East River, the Domino Sugar Factory’s landmarked Refinery Building and the Central Water Feature, which can be specially programmed. Four recovered syrup tanks will also be embedded in this area as an homage to the site’s past.
For those looking for action instead of relaxation along the Domino Sugar Factory’s waterfront, interactive spaces include a 1,750-square-foot dog run, two bocce courts, a volleyball court and a 6,300-square-foot flexible playing field.
In its entirety, the Domino Sugar Factory complex will eventually consist of four buildings that will house 2,300 apartments, with 700 designated as affordable units for low-income families, and 500,000 square feet of office space.
Though the current site dates back to 1882, the original Domino Sugar refinery was built in 1856. Operations at the refinery ended in 2004, and several buildings at the site were landmarked in 2007.
