"WE TAKE THE LEGACY OF OUR FOUNDERS VERY SERIOUSLY. OUR LONG-TERM OUTLOOK HAS HELPED US DEVELOP A 360-DEGREE PERSPECTIVE ON REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP, AND OPERATION."
- KATE HEMMERDINGER-GOODMAN, CO-PRESIDENT
His son Dale, added six service divisions to the company’s ownership role and solidified the company’s place in the New York real estate community.
Today, Damon and Kate have transformed ATCO into an investment manager; capitalizing on its nearly 100 years of property and asset management experience to provide highly differentiated experiences to its clients and attractive returns to its partners.
ATCO’s history traces back to 1922, when Henry Hemmerdinger purchased a mill and farm in central Queens to accommodate his expanding rag-business. From 22 acres of undeveloped land, factories and warehouses sprouted, becoming home to 5,000 workers and more than 60 businesses. The Hemmerdinger family’s fate as a leader in real estate and property management was sealed.
Monroe Hemmerdinger sold his father’s waste business, and held onto the land as he transitioned to developing commercial real estate in Manhattan and nationwide. He died suddenly in 1962 at age 46.
H. Dale Hemmerdinger,
1945-2023
Dale joined ATCO in 1967 and led the company until his death in 2023. Under his leadership, ATCO grew to become a major force in the real estate world, developing, owning and managing millions of square feet of prestigious commercial and residential properties across New York City and multiple other leading U.S. markets.
His public service roles included service as Chairman of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Commissioner of the New York City Conciliation and Appeals Board, and a member of the New York State Commission on Judicial Nominations. He served as Chairman of the New York City Police Foundation, the Citizens Budget Commission, and the Realty Foundation of New York, and as a trustee of New York University, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Nightingale-Bamford School, and Harlem Academy.
Henry Hemmerdinger,
1880-1946
Henry founded the business that became ATCO in 1922, when he relocated his garment waste business to property he purchased in Glendale, Queens. At the time, the Atlas Waste Company employed approximately 200 people and processed some 100 tons of fiber per day and filled most of the existing 300,000sf of buildings on the property.
In order to attract tenants to the remaining space, Henry built a garage on the property. Trucks were still a relatively new and not very reliable technology, and the garage ensured that even a truck that limped into the facility could be repaired and put back on its way.
By the time Henry died in 1946, he had expaned Atlas Terminals from four buildings to 31 with 786,000 square feet of space. He served as director of the Advertising Club of New York, the American Club of Cuba, the Knickerbocker Yacht Club, the Queens Childrens Shelter, and Jamaica Hospital.
Monroe Hemmerdinger,
1916-1962
Monroe joined the family business in 1936 after graduating from Brown University – the first in his family to attend college. After his service in the Navy during WWII, he continued to expand Atlas Terminals. By the early 1950’s, Atlas Terminals was one of very few industrial parks within New York City. Atlas housed prestigious tenants such as Kraft, General Electric, New York Telephone and Westinghouse. At this time Monroe decided to sell off the rag business to focus his energies on expanding his real estate holdings. He built a career developing a wide range of properties, including industrial properties in Miami and New York and two Manhattan office towers before his untimely death at the age of 46.