Remington Rand Bldg. Filling Up, May Expand

"We just want to brew some beer."

That's the message from Shane Lentini and Andrew Daigle, the men behind Stubborn Beauty Brewing Company.  And if the Common Council approves their lease, they'll be the latest tenants in the city-owned Remington Rand Building at 180 Johnson Street.

"We've been looking [for brewery space] for a year" says Lentini.  "We needed something affordable."  Both men have day jobs, but brewing is their passion, so they started Stubborn Beauty.  "This is a part-time venture on top of full-time work."

That made them a good fit for Remington Rand, which has become an incubator for local homegrown businesses.

A Rich History

The 1000 foot long, red brick building has a rich and colorful history.  Originally built in 1896 as a bicycle factory, the building also produced "horseless carriages".  In 1909 the company that eventually became "Remington Rand" converted it to typewriter manufacturing. The facility was one of Middletown's largest employers, enduring a violent labor strike in the 1930's.  But in the 1970's Remington Rand closed down production at the site.  Various companies attempted to use the building but nothing took hold, and 13 years ago the city took the building in tax foreclosure proceedings.

Isolated at the end of Johnson Street in the North End, contaminated with lead and asbestos, the property had become a haven for crime ranging from prostitution to illegal pit bull breeding.  "We pulled over 70 junked cars out of there" said city planner Bill Warner.


But the building found new life as a business incubator with the city as landlord.  Today the main building houses 20 different businesses ranging from asbestos removal to a coffee roaster.  Many businesses are start-ups taking advantage of the relatively cheap rent the city offers ($4/sq ft).  Businesses including flooring, carpentry, landscaping, bulk mail distribution, and fitness facilities all call the building home.  Oddfellows Playhouse rents space to store their props.  Non-profit Middletown United Fathers recently began using part of the space for meeting and planning.

Warner plans to divide some of the unused space into small offices that can be used as a true 'incubator' space, where people wanting to start a "micro-business" can begin to put their dreams together.

He is still negotiating the brownfield cleanup of the separate boiler building with Unisys, the corporate offspring of Remington Rand.  In 2009, liability for that cleanup scuttled a pending sale of the building.

"It's Middletown's best kept secret."

That's the opinion of Johnny Moore, the owner of Fat City Motorcycles, a six-year tenant of Remington Rand.  Moore also helps manage the property for the city.  "All the tenants know each other" he says.  "We network among ourselves, so we look out for each other."

Moore loves the building for more than just the cheap rent.  "It has great character.  There's a ton of history."  In the early 1900's, the Keating Wheel Company began making motorized bicycles -- the first motorcycles.  Now Moore is customizing motorcycles in the same building.

"How cool is that?" he asks.  "And it doesn't cost the taxpayers."

Warner says that's true:  the building is self-sufficient, actually generating income for the city.  "It supports most of our economic development efforts," he said.

New roof and 2nd floor expansion

But the building isn't without it's problems.  The original tarpaper roof is still in place on the 2-story building, and large sections of it blow up whenever there's a windstorm.  That damage has been patched, but with the first floor more than 70 per cent occupied, Warner says it's time to plan for a new roof so that the 40,000 square feet on the second floor can be rented out.

And it's not just the roof.  Windows on the second story will have to be replaced (the first story windows are already done), and an elevator will have to be added.

If it happens, the expansion will be a new chapter in a century-old story of Middletown business.