Two Trees breaks ground on new building at Domino Sugar site

March 2, 2015 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle

On Monday, Two Trees Management announced it has broken ground on the first new building at the Domino Sugar Refinery site. Renderings by SHoP

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Up, Up And Away.

Keep your eye on the east side of Kent Avenue between S. 3rd and S. 4th Streets in Williamsburg.

A new building with a hole in the middle like a giant donut, clad in zinc and copper and covered with terraces, will be rising out of the vacant lot that hosted a temporary community space with bike trails until last fall.

Two Trees Management started construction this week on its first new building at the 2.95 million-square-foot waterfront Domino Sugar Refinery site — a 16-story apartment house with approximately 105 units earmarked for low-income New Yorkers.

The rental-apartment building designed by high-profile architecture firm SHoP at Site E, as Two Trees calls the location, will have a total of about 500 units. It is identified in city Buildings Department records as 329 Kent Ave.

“The Domino site has been stalled for years, so we are very proud to break ground here and quickly bring on line 105 affordable homes for the community,” Jed Walentas, Two Trees principal, said in an announcement Monday.

“As with all of our projects, Two Trees is committed to Williamsburg for the long haul, and we’d like to thank the many local residents and stakeholders for their input and ideas since we acquired the property two years ago,” he added.

The affordable units, with rents as low as $575 per month, will be offered to people earning 60% of area median income (AMI), which is between $33,560 and $50,340 for a family of four. Residents of Brooklyn Community Board 1 will be given preference for them.

Also, Two Trees “has committed to an aggressive local hiring plan for construction and building service jobs,” the company’s announcement notes.

The construction of the building at 329 Kent Ave. is expected to be completed in 2017, at an estimated cost of more than $200 million.