Jed Walentas

The Brooklyn waterfront — once dominated by brick factories that made sugar, beer and mustard — has, this century, sprouted a row of resplendent skyscrapers housing a new generation of New Yorkers.

But many of those brick structures survived and Jed Walentas repurposed them into luxury apartment complexes, hotels and theater venues, helping DUMBO and the Williamsburg waterfront become some of the most desirable places to live and work in the city.

That became apparent last year as tenants filled One South First, the second high-rise in Two Trees’ master plan to remake the 11-acre site of the former Domino Sugar Refinery.

The 435-foot tower, which has become Williamsburg’s tallest, was designed by COOKFOX Architects and features 330 rentals; ground-floor retail, including an outpost of Roberta’s Pizza; and easy access to Domino Park.

Last summer, the park’s director spray-painted circles on the grass, allowing anxious New Yorkers to cluster in a socially distant way. Photos of people relaxing there like sculpins in tide pools became a defining pandemic image.

“We’re proud of it. The circles represented the ingenuity of coping with this crisis,” Two Trees spokesman David Lombino said. “The images became a symbol of New Yorkers’ resiliency and ingenuity. We’re not going to let this stop us, we’re going to adapt.”

The next project in Walentas’ portfolio is River Ring, a pair of 560- and 710-foot residential towers with a new YMCA on the 400,000-square-foot site of a former Con Edison plant. The rezoning plan encountered opposition from neighborhood residents at a public hearing in April. But, if the plan passes, construction could begin as soon as 2023.

Walentas also launched a philanthropic endeavor this past year, called The David Prize, in honor of his father, David, and his legacy. They received 10,000 applications and awarded $200,000 grants to five recipients in October.

“It’s a genius grant for New Yorkers who wanted to better their city and needed capital to get started,” Lombino said. “There’s a spirit here that values mavericks who think the impossible is possible.”—A.S.