How Sweet It Is! Brooklyn Sugar Plant Gets Landmark Status

The Domino sugar factory, a towering brick presence along the Brooklyn waterfront since the mid-19th century and a reminder of the city's great manufacturing past, has been granted landmark status.

The 13-story refinery, shuttered in January 2004 after 148 years of operation on the East River, was unanimously approved Tuesday for the designation by the city Landmarks Preservation Commission.

``The refinery is the oldest intact structure on the site and the most iconic symbol of Brooklyn's industrial heritage on the waterfront,'' Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney said after the vote.

The new status won't affect the planned development by the site's owner, CPC Resources, which hopes to put in 2,200 residential units with a breathtaking view of Manhattan. Thirty percent of the units would be categorized as affordable housing, CPC spokesman Richard Edmonds said.

But the landmark status ensures that CPC can't alter the existing exterior of the architecturally important factory. The project, dubbed The New Domino, will feature two 30-story towers and two 40-story towers flanking the landmarked property.