Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced plans to build a 650,000-square-foot office building on company-owned land at the intersection of Princeton Pike and Interstate 295 in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Construction is expected to begin this fall and the new facility is expected to open by the end of 2016.
The new facility is part of the company’s broader strategic plan to modernize its workspace to enable greater collaboration, increase technological capabilities and enhance productivity. The new facility will allow the company to consolidate operations currently located in leased office space at 777 Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro Township and at Nassau Park Boulevard in West Windsor Township. The Princeton Pike location was purchased by Bristol-Myers Squibb from RCN Corp. in 2001.
“We are proud to expand our presence in Lawrenceville, a community that has been home to our company for more than 40 years,” says chief executive officer Lamberto Andreotti. “Our new campus will create a dynamic and modern workplace to advance the important work that our employees are doing to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines for patients with serious diseases.”
The Lawrence Township Planning Board unanimously approved final site plans for the new campus in June. The new campus will be the company’s second in Lawrence Township, joining its worldwide headquarters at U.S. Route 206 and Province Line Road, which opened in 1971. The company currently employs more than 2,000 people at the Route 206 campus and more than 6,000 in Central New Jersey. Once completed, as many as 2,500 people will work at the new facility.
“I’m excited that Bristol-Myers Squibb has decided to increase their investment in Lawrence Township,” says Lawrence Township Mayor Cathleen Lewis. “The company has been a constant partner in making Lawrence Township a great community; this new project will continue that legacy. We appreciate the confidence Bristol-Myers Squibb has shown in our town and it is another sign that Lawrence is a great place for businesses to invest.”
The new facility represents the company’s broader strategic initiative to modernize its facilities through improved technology, more efficient design and workspace that enables collaboration, creativity and innovation. Employees will have state-of-the-art tools to collaborate and enhance their productivity, including personal desktop video capabilities and an immersive, high-definition video conferencing environment. The entire working environment will be both wired and wireless to enable employees to access the applications and information they need no matter where they are on the campus while using whatever computing device makes them most productive. Bristol-Myers Squibb is introducing similar open work spaces around the world.
The new campus also is designed to be friendly to the environment and neighbors. The buildings are targeted to meet LEED certification standards for energy and environmental design. Most mechanical equipment will be located below ground to reduce noise. The site plans preserve the historic Brearley Oak tree located directly opposite Lenox Drive. A segment of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail on the campus will link to a network of walking paths on the property, and nearly half of the 134-acre tract will remain working farmland. There will be preferred parking areas for hybrid vehicles and indoor bicycle racks. The parking areas will be paved with porous pavement to reduce runoff and promote recharging of groundwater aquifers.
