Historic Factory, Modern Makers: A Tour of Adaptive Reuse in Action
Thursday, December 3, 2026
11 AM – 12 PM ET
In Person Tour
Ozone Park, Queens
1 AIA LU Credit
How can adaptive reuse of older industrial buildings sustain both the city’s architectural heritage and working economy?
HDC invites you to a behind-the-scenes tour of the GMDC Ozone Park Industrial Center, a former hat and cap factory built in 1906. See firsthand how Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC) used historic rehabilitation tax credits to preserve the building’s industrial character while adapting it for 23 small manufacturing businesses, from woodworkers and metal fabricators to mushroom growers and perfume makers, and earned LEED Silver certification.
The tour will be led by GMDC’s Senior Project Manager Cassandra Smith and Project Manager Gustavo Martinez.
Cassandra Smith is a planner and preservationist who leads the team that manages real estate development and planning projects for GMDC. Cassandra joined GMDC in the summer of 2006 and has since played a critical role in the GMDC projects that utilize a variety of tax credits and City, State, and Federal incentive programs. She holds a BA from Mills College and master’s degrees in Urban Planning and Historic Preservation from Columbia University.
Gustavo Martinez is a Registered Architect and LEED AP, who manages development projects for GMDC. Gustavo joined GMDC in the summer of 2012 and has been involved in the design and construction of renovation projects at 1155 Manhattan Avenue, 1102 Atlantic Avenue, and 7 St Nicholas Avenue.
This program is a continuation of HDC’s 2026 Annual Conference Making it in New York: The Preservation of Manufacturing. Read our conference report here.
The tour will take place indoors and the building is ADA accessible.
General Admission $5
AIA LU Credit $25
Image Credit: Tim Soter, courtesy of GMDC.