Spear and Company Factory | |
Location | 94-15 100th Street., Queens, New York City |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°41′19″N73°50′38″W / 40.68861°N 73.84389°W |
Built | 1906 |
Architectural style | Cast-in-place reinforced concrete |
NRHP reference No. | 100001807 |
Added to NRHP | November 17, 2017 |
The Spear Building is an 85,000-square-foot, four-story building that was a hat factory and wax novelty manufacturer in its 1920s heyday. It is located at 94-15 100th Street, between 94th and 95th Avenues one block from in the Woodhaven neighborhood of Queens, New York City, and is best known as the location of the Worksman Cycles Factory, a manufacturer of iconic pushcarts, tricycles and heavy duty bicycles.
The building was listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places in 2017. [1] The same year, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as an example of an intact early 20th-century reinforced concrete factory complex.
The Regal Hat company of Chicago and the Spear Company of New York merged on May 1, 1920, to be known as the Regal-Spear Co., manufacturers of cloth headwear and children's novelties. The Spear company experienced labor unrest later in 1920 when the labor force was locked out of the Woodhaven factory in Ozone Park, Queens. [2] At the time the company was listed as serving 22,000 customers.
The factory building on 100 St., was once home to Regal-Spear Co., which produced hats and was touted as the largest cloth headwear house in the world. It was also home to the Columbia Wax Products Co., a manufacturer of novelty candles. It was later home to the Worksman bicycle manufacturer. [3] Constructed in 1906 for Spear & Company, was one of the first cast-in-place concrete structures in New York City. [4]
A report prepared by Gregory Dietrich Preservation Consulting, [5] a landmark preservation group, described the building's architecture and stated its historical value qualified it for historic registry status. The report concluded, "The Spear & Company factory is not only significant for embodying the practical benefits of reinforced-concrete factory construction, but also for its simplicity and utility as exhibited by a restrained eclectic utilitarian design." The designation, which is largely honorific, will help ensure the former Hat factory's long-term preservation. [6]
The status also makes property owners eligible for tax credits to rehabilitate the structures. [7] State Rehabilitation Tax Credits in New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland offer state tax credits as an added incentive for rehabilitating National Register listed properties. In New York State, for example, owners of commercial properties or owner-occupied residential properties listed on the National Register that are located in eligible census tracts have the potential to capture 20% after-tax credits for qualified rehabilitative expenses related to their property's redevelopment. [8] [9]
Andrew Cuomo, New York state governor designated the site eligible for historical status in 2017 along with 20 others, announcing "The Empire State proudly celebrates its diverse culture and rich heritage, and with the addition of these significant sites to the Registers of Historic Places, we will continue to honor all of the great things that make New York, New York," The statement had designated 21 sites around New York state. "Listing these landmarks will honor the contributions made by so many New Yorkers throughout our vast history, and helps advance efforts to preserve and improve these important historic sites for future generations."
The city Economic Development Corp. announced in 2016 the site will be rehabilitated to accommodate 24 businesses and 80 skilled workers due to a $10 million grant and $3.7 million loan from the EDC. [10]
The businesses that will work out of the space are expected to employ woodworkers, set builders, metal workers, home goods manufacturers and more at an average salary of $51,500 per year, based on EDC projections.
The site is also home to a 95-foot tall cellular re-transmission tower that stands above the surrounding wood-frame homes and trees of the adjacent abandoned right of way of the Rockaway Beach Branch. The gutting of the interior was completed, and new roofing was installed in July 2018. The building will be LEED certified and will incorporate 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) of photovoltaic panels to offset tenants' electrical costs. Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center has acquired $40 million in funding to complete the rehabilitation. The site will be called the GMDC Ozone Park Industrial Center. [11]
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic value". A property listed in the National Register or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support the preservation of America’s diverse historic buildings, neighborhoods, and heritage through its programs, resources, and advocacy.
Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts World Casino & Hotel. Traditionally home to a large Italian-American population, Ozone Park has grown to have many residents of Caribbean, Hispanic, and Asian backgrounds.
Woodhaven is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered on the north by Park Lane South and Forest Park, on the east by Richmond Hill, on the south by Ozone Park and Atlantic Avenue, and the west by the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Richmond Hill is a commercial and residential neighborhood located in the southeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. The area borders Kew Gardens and Forest Park to the north, Jamaica and South Jamaica to the east, South Ozone Park to the south, and Woodhaven and Ozone Park to the west. The neighborhood is split between Queens Community Board 9 and 10.
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a nonprofit corporation whose stated mission is to "strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors, with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city's future economy."
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Woodhaven Boulevard and Cross Bay Boulevard are two parts of a major boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. Woodhaven Boulevard runs roughly north–south in the central portion of Queens. South of Liberty Avenue, it is known as Cross Bay Boulevard, which is the main north–south road in Howard Beach. Cross Bay Boulevard is locally known as simply "Cross Bay", and Woodhaven Boulevard, "Woodhaven". The completion of the boulevard in 1923, together with the construction of the associated bridges over Jamaica Bay, created the first direct roadway connection to the burgeoning Atlantic Ocean beachfront communities of the Rockaway Peninsula from Brooklyn and most of Queens.
The history of the National Register of Historic Places began in 1966 when the United States government passed the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which created the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Upon its inception, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) became the lead agency for the Register. The Register has continued to grow through two reorganizations, one in the 1970s and one in 1980s and in 1978 the NRHP was completely transferred away from the National Park Service, it was again transmitted to the NPS in 1981.
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Worksman Cycles is a family-owned American manufacturer of bicycles and tricycles for industrial, commercial and recreational use. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Ozone Park in the borough of Queens in New York City. Previously in the Spear Building the company also operates an additional factory in Conway, South Carolina. Worksman is the oldest bicycle manufacturer in the United States and has operated its own factory-direct e-commerce store since 2004.
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