To find out where we're going, it's important to know where we've been. Take a walk down our long memory lane and discover our different office locations.
1938 - Hancock-Wood was founded; company leaders selected North Baltimore as headquarters, and the local chamber raised enough money for them to pay a month's rent and establish an office at 109 S. Main St. (on the east side of the street).
1940 - The company moved across the street to the Steiff Building (116 S. Main St.), a long a narrow building which previously housed a meat market. In fact, the manager's office was in the old walk-in cooler. A line truck and pickups were kept behind the building. One time after a large snowfall, some of the line crew shoveled heavy snow off the roof of the building, but it ended up doing more damage than good -- they shoveled up some nails holding the roof together and several leaks ensued.
1946 - It was decided to build a 60' x 60' warehouse building (right) in downtown North Baltimore on E. State St. while the office portion remained in the Steiff Building. Note: the State St. lot where this new warehouse once stood is now vacant.
1950 - Steiff Building owners wanted to raise the rent, and Manager R.P. Luse thought the price was too high, so he moved the company to a different location on Main St. -- an office located above Dr. E.A. Powell's doctor office at 107 N. Main St.
1950 - After establishing headquarters in three separate places in North Baltimore over the years, Hancock-Wood bought 3.5 acres of land on the Dixie Highway (what is now I-75). The tract included a 60' x 60' concrete block building and a 24' x 67' frame building (which sat where the current operations drive-through gate is located) -- all for $15,000. Hancock-Wood set plans in motion to build an office building on this new site, sell the warehouse in downtown North Baltimore, and thus, consolidate the office, warehouse and pole yard at one centrally located point.
1952 - When the downtown North Baltimore office rent of $40/month  was raised to $100 and the owner wouldn't settle for $60, the office was immediately moved to the warehouse site (right) on the Dixie Highway (I-75), even though the office portion was not complete. The hope was that the new office building would be completed and ready for occupancy by Dec. 31.
1953 - The new office along I-75 was completed on January 20, and it was formally dedicated on April 20, the 15th anniversary of HWEC's dedication.
1958 - An expansion added one room onto the north side of the office.
1962 - Another expansion added three rooms onto the east side (right).
1963 - The 60' x 60' building was added onto to create five more garage spaces.
1970 - HWEC determined that office and warehouse space was getting tight, so it was decided to add an expansion to increase office space by 60% and the warehouse by 32%. The expansion was to connect the office and warehouse buildings. Note: this expansion sits where the current engineering/operations department and crew room is located.
1971 - The office and warehouse expansion was completed in August.
1981 - A new garage/warehouse (below)  was built to replace the original structures -- and some additions over the years -- in use since 1952. Growing repair costs of the old warehouses and the need for more space were among the reasons to do so, and a year-long study preceded the decision. Of course, the old 60' x 60' warehouse was demolished.
1988 - A new 50' flag pole and outdoor plaza was added in April (right). The addition was done in part to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the coooperative. The new pole and plaza had a bronze plaque in honor of those who made the cooperative successful over the years. Plus, upgrading the flag pole was appropriately symbolic of Hancock-Wood's continuing commitment to doing business the cooperative way, a philosophy based in a belief in democratic principles. The flag instantly became a recognizeable and welcome icon to those travelling along I-75.
1992 - HWEC added 2,250 square feet of space and remodeled portions of its office for $400,000 in September (below). Various options had been  considered since 1990. Changes included a new exterior facade, entrance, lobby, restrooms, meeting room and additional office space. Most of the resistance electric heat was converted to geothermal heat pumps.
2005 - Informal discussions begin regarding a new office facility. Extensive evaluations and studies occured over the next two years.
2006 - A January meeting identified office space as one of the top company priorities for Hancock-Wood.
2007 - Plans were approved in February to proceed with a new office building, set to open in 2008. The initial plan is to contain about 40,000 square feet for garage and warehouse space, and 35,000 square feet for office space.
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