Uh, Pencil This In: The New Look at the Old Eberhard Faber Plant

The Waterfront Alliance of Greenpoint and Williamsburg posted an item about the demolition permit issued for one of the buildings in the old Eberhard Faber complex in Greenpoint and noted the scaffolding that's been put up, which is always a sign that the wrecking crew cometh. The coming demolition and construction will likely upset many in the preservation community that have had the buildings on their list of historic neighborhood structures.

The Alliance notes:

The permit covers a site that includes three buildings, all of which were once part of the pencil factory complex. It is not clear from the permit if the demolition is for all three buildings, or only one. In the past week or two, scaffolding has gone up around the building at the corner of Kent Street and West Street...While this building is not the most distinctive or historic in the Faber complex, it shares a lot with an older two-story structure that is very characteristic of the Eberhard Faber buildings.

So, we went poking around and found that the developer is none other than Isaac Katan, who is also involved in the Domino Sugar Plant property in Williamsburg and in many project in South Brooklyn. The trail also leads to Daniel Goldner Architects, which has designed building in the rendering. Their website says it will "establish a recognizable architectural icon for the area that would...stand out distinctly from the adjacent context of mundane utilitarian buildings lining the waterfront." Some plans were disapproved by the Department of Buildings in November, but demolition permits are in place and the New Look Pencil Factory does not include the little "very characteristic" two-story building next door.