Domino Sugar Refinery

The Domino Sugar Refinery is a mixed-use development and former sugar refinery along the East River in the neighborhood of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York, United States. When active as a refinery, it was operated by the Havemeyer family's American Sugar Refining Company, which produced Domino brand sugar and was one of several sugar factories on the East River in northern Brooklyn. The family's first refinery in Williamsburg opened in 1856 and was operated by German-born Frederick C. Havemeyer Jr., the son of American Sugar's founder. After a fire destroyed the original structures on South Third Street and Kent Avenue, the current complex was built in 1882 by Theodore A. Havemeyer, Thomas Winslow, and J. E. James. The American Sugar Refining Company grew to control most of the sugar industry in the United States by the late 19th century, with the Brooklyn refinery as its largest plant. Many different types of sugar were refined at the facility, and it employed up to 4,500 workers at its peak in 1919. Demand started to decline in the 1920s with advances in sugar refining and the construction of other facilities, but the refinery continued to operate until 2004. In the early 21st century, the refinery was redeveloped as office space, residential towers, and parkland. The complex's filter, pan, and finishing house was made a New York City designated landmark in 2007, because of its historical significance as one of several industrial concerns on Brooklyn's waterfront. After the failure of an initial redevelopment proposal by CPC Resources, SHoP Architects proposed another design in 2013, which was approved the next year. Demolition of the non-landmark structures in the refinery began shortly afterward, and the first new tower in the development project opened in 2017. As of 2026, the refinery redevelopment consists of four completed towers; the Filter, Pan, and Finishing House; and a waterside park called Domino Park.