The shuttered Domino Sugar Factory opened its doors Willy Wonka-style this weekend for hundreds of curious New Yorkers, many of them armed with cameras and hoping to get an inside look at an iconic relic of New York City's heritage. However, some were disappointed, as the "open house" really meant "open gates", and not actually a full tour of the building. Also, no Oompa Loompas were spotted.
The opening was organized by the property's real estate developers, who bought it in 2004 and shortly thereafter announced plans to remodel the building into over 2,000 residential units. The NYPOST reports that over 600 of them will be affordable, "set aside as affordable rentals or condos for people earning between $25,000 and $95,000 a year".
The plan is to have a few more of these open houses in the spring, as developers hope to raise interest in the property, which they expect to start remodeling sometime next year. For some more shots of the open house, blogger EV Grieve posted a handful, and noted that there are more out there to be found. She notes, "By now, there are likely thousands of photos posted around the internets from the open house (factory?) at the Domino Sugar Refinery earlier today. (Every person I saw there had a camera.)" The building is currently in the spotlight for displaying a Vote Obama sign over the weekend.
