Take A Look At Williamsburg’s New Waterfront Park, Opening This June
WILLIAMSBURG – As the mega-development project surrounding the Domino Sugar Refinery moves along, more plans and renderings are becoming available for the promised Domino Park, which opens this summer.
The park will be finished well before the residential and office developments rising above it, and is set to open with a kick-off event on June 10.
The 11-acre waterfront park will sit at the base of 3 million square feet of development, courtesy of Two Trees Management. The project is a collaboration between SHoP Architects, responsible for the master plan, and James Corner Field Operations, of Highline Fame. James Corner will also be responsible for the Greenpoint Landing park project, a 22-acre undertaking further up the North Brooklyn waterfront.
Features of the park will include a multi-use field, a “beach” for waterfront lounging, and a volleyball court. There will also be bocce courts—which should do well to mitigate the loss of one of the bocce courts in McCarren Park, as renovations are done on the track area.
Notably, a taco stand called Tacocina will be part of the esplanade, which includes a lounge area, a picnic area and a play area for kids. Traditional play equipment will be usurped by specially designed “play artifacts” inspired by industrial design. But humans won’t be the only ones allowed to play: designs show a dog run will be included at one end of the park as well.
Paying further homage to the site’s industrial past, an artifact walk will run the length of the park, letting visitors stroll past old pieces of machinery once used in the sugar refining process that brought prosperity to the Williamsburg waterfront for many years. A bucket conveyor, old syrup tanks, a screw conveyor, bridge hoist and old gantry cranes will provide a glimpse into the past.
Along with the massive housing units rising to rival the Williamsburg Bridge, the Two Trees project will center around the recently-approved Domino Sugar Refinery redesign, which will incorporate glass office space into the shell of the historic refinery building.
Park Manager James Lamparello recently announced the June 10 opening date at a local precinct meeting, promising those present that the park would bring some jobs to local residents. Two Trees is also sponsoring a job training program in conjunction with St. Nick’s Alliance, which seeks to train locals in the skills needed for construction jobs, then hopefully hire them to work on developments coming to their communities.
