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The former Domino Sugar Factory plant lives on!
Just a few months after a replica of the iconic 40-foot-tall neon sign that adorned the Brooklyn skyline for over a century was installed on top of the historic building, the Domino Park team is transforming the site into a 460,000 square-foot, Class A office building with a unique indoor vertical garden lining the entire perimeter of the area.
The feature is currently under construction, as Brooklyn-based company Two Trees Management has spent the week installing 17 different 30-foot-tall trees weighing 10,000 pounds each on-site.
The massive trees were craned over the facade of the building and then very precisely dropped inside the narrow 12-foot space between the old brick and the new glass building within. An incredible feat of engineering, indeed!
Once the process is complete in a few months, visitors will get to gaze at the large-scale plant installations and admire how the wildlife will grow both within and around the historical structure.
As a refresher: the legendary Thomas Havemeyer building was erected in 1882 on an 11-acre site in Williamsburg right by the East River. An extremely lucrative business from the start, the refinery produced 5,000 barrels of sugar daily back during the 19th century but, after World War II, as corn syrup and other alternatives gained popularity, the staff started solely refining liquid sugar on-premise.
In 2003, the plant shuttered and the site became home to new developments, including the now-beloved Domino Park. The building was protected by its landmark status, but the iconic sign was not and it was therefore moved to a nearby location.
Unfortunately, officials were not able to properly store the signage and so the one that was just installed on top of the building is actually a replica. Real estate developer Two Trees and Domino Sugar are currently looking for a new, proper home for the original sign.
Once the renovations on the actual building are through, the structure will stand 235 feet tall, it will be home to 460,000 square feet of office space and it will feature a barrel-vaulted glass dome.
It's going to be amazing.