William Somerville, Inc.

Butler, Rogers, Baskett Architects

This 120 year old East Harlem fine woodworking manufacturer requested the assistance of Harlem CDC's Planning Department in formulating a plan to acquire adjacent City-owned property for expansion of its business. The company employs skilled workers and apprentices from the local community and is interested in adding 25 new workers to its existing staff of 65. The Planning Department worked with the company's owners and architects to develop a two-story, architecturally distinctive extension of its manufacturing space to house new state-of-the-art machinery. We presented it to the Economic Development committee of Community Board 11 and they approved it. In addition, we enlisted and achieved the support of the local elected officials and the East Harlem Business Capital Corporation.

The site is included in both the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and the expanded East Harlem Empire Zone. The benefits these zones provide are an additional incentive for the company to stay in East Harlem, avoiding the alternative of having to relocate to another area in order to build a larger, more modern facility. We are awaiting a decision by the Mayor's office to allow Somerville to acquire this property.