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 located on South Third Street and Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, the current complex was built in 1882 by Theodore A. Havemeyer, Thomas Winslow, and J. E. James.

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.

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.

[16] Because of the depth of the East River in the vicinity of the refinery, shipments of raw sugar from overseas could be loaded directly into the facility.

[18] That November, Havemeyers & Elder acquired an adjacent parcel,[14][19] which had previously been leased to rival refiners Wintjen, Dick and Harms.

[12][14] The same month, Theodore Havemeyer submitted plans for a ten-story brick structure, likely a new filter house, to the Bureau of Buildings.

[14][22] It caused an estimated $1.5 million in damage, though insurance policies covered about half of the losses,[c] and resulted in the elimination of 1,200 to 2,000 jobs.

[25] The next month, Havemeyers & Elder submitted plans for a new fireproof pan and finishing house measuring 250 by 70 feet (76 by 21 m) to the Bureau of Buildings.

[30][31] The new refinery structure gave the Havemeyer family a large competitive advantage due to its size,[31] and by 1884, the rebuilt plant employed 1,000 men who made 5,000 barrels of sugar daily.

[31] Around this time, a large sign with yellow letters spelling "Domino Sugar" was erected on one of the refinery's buildings, facing the East River.

[69][70] When the strike started, Domino reduced operations at the refinery, performing much of the refining at its Baltimore plant before shipping it to Brooklyn for finishing.

[76] The 11-acre (4.5 ha) site was purchased by CPC Resources, the for-profit arm of the Community Preservation Corporation, and Brooklyn developer Isaac Katan in July 2004[77] for $55.8 million.

[82] CPC's original plan for the site, designed by Rafael Viñoly, included up to nine buildings, four of which would be over 300 feet (91 m) tall.

The plan called for 2,200 apartments, 660 of which would be set aside or designated as affordable housing, as well as a school; the "Domino Sugar" sign on the refinery would be preserved.

[91][92] The new plan called for 60% more public open space on a new street grid, allowed mixed-use zoning, and was designed to connect the existing neighborhood to the new 0.25 mi (400 m) waterfront.

[93][94] Though some neighborhood residents opposed the redevelopment, this opposition was more limited after Two Trees agreed to add more affordable housing and parkland.

[96] The revised plan faced objection from New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, who wanted even more affordable housing on the site.

[75] In 2014, photographer David Allee explored the abandoned portions of the refinery, stating that it smelled of "creme brulee mixed with mold and rot".

[81][100] The same year, from May through July, artist Kara Walker exhibited her piece A Subtlety at the refinery's Syrup Shed.

According to a 2022 analysis by Curbed, "85 percent of the founders and principals" of the companies at Ten Grand lived in either Williamsburg or the adjacent neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Bushwick.

[128][134] Work on 346 Kent Avenue (later known as One Domino Square[135]), a pair of towers at the southern end of the development, began in November 2022.

[136] To finance the construction of 346 Kent Avenue, Two Trees received a $365 million loan from JPMorgan Chase at the end of that year.

[149] The Domino Sugar Refinery site spans 11 acres (4.5 ha) on the East River north of the Williamsburg Bridge.

[107] The building contains amenities such as a rooftop deck, a fitness center, a residents' lounge, and a courtyard on the fourth floor.

The combined structure's amenities include a rooftop deck with cabanas, a fitness center, a residents' lounge, a swimming pool, and spaces for coworking.

[157] The condos range from one to three bedrooms[158][159] and contain features such as movable windows, rooms with high ceilings, and smart devices in the kitchens and bathrooms.

Designed by the architectural firm of James Corner, the public park includes pieces of machinery from the factory, as well as gardens, a play area for children, and various fields.

[172][173] The plans include adding a new glass facade with a barrel vault behind the existing, landmarked walls of the Pan, Filter, and Finishing House.

[108] The complex also contained a "bin structure" in which sugar grains were categorized by size, as well as conveyor bridges leading down to the refinery building.