Hartford’s newly reimagined Swift Factory is featured in the summer issue of Preservation Magazine, a publication presented by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The article, A Transformed Gilding Factory Gives Hartford Locals a Chance to Shine, details the history of the Swift Factory and its transformational journey to become a community resource once again.
Like the building’s new materials blending with the old, Swift Factory bridges Hartford’s industrial past with its diversified future.
Bruner/Cott led the architectural transformation of the Swift Factory in 2020 in partnership with client and nonprofit developer, Community Solutions. The factory complex, which had sat vacant since 2005, was once the industrial and economic heart of North Hartford, a disinvested community in Connecticut. Following Community Solutions’ acquisition of the complex and a robust community process, the factory was renovated to house commissary kitchens for local restaurants, incubator kitchen space for fledgling local businesses, a community-based private school, a healthcare clinic, and shared office space for local entrepreneurs and start-ups.
The new use of the historic Swift Factory considers the economic, health, social, cultural, and environmental conditions of North Hartford to create a sustainable, yet innovative model for improving the quality of life for the neighborhood’s residents.