ISELIN, NJ-Outfitting a 22,000-square-foot high-end corporate headquarters from raw space to completion is challenge enough for most contractors -- but doing it in 11 weeks brings the challenge to a whole new level, as River Drive Construction Co. has learned with its work for Schlesinger Associates’ new headquarters at Metro 101 at 101 South Wood Avenue here.
River Drive was brought on board for the $1.6 million assignment in July, with a completion date of September 30. “The coordination of the trades was the main challenge,” says Tony Czapka, the project manager for Elmwood Park, NJ-based River Drive. Several of the subs expressed doubt the project could be completed on time, he notes.
Hurricane Irene didn’t help, as some of the subcontractors experienced flooding at their homes or businesses. Yet the project remains on track.
Schlesinger is relocating from Executive Plaza at 10 Parsonage Road in Edison. The company is also constructing marketing research test centers within the space and supervising the relocation of the main IT room servicing other sites across the country. The project is incorporating luxury finishes and high-end carpeting and glass.
Making the process easier was the contractor’s long association with the client, and partnership with building manager Jones Lang LaSalle.
River Drive completed the Terra Sky Center in Summit, NJ, a yoga/wellness center, for its founder Ava Schlesinger, the wife of Schlesinger Associates CEO, Steve Schlesinger, as well as a project for Congregation Beth Hatikvah, Steve Schlesinger’s congregation.
“This is our fifth project for them,” says Joseph Langan, president of Elmwood Park, NJ-based River Drive in a statement. “We have a long history.”
The building manager, too, has been “very accommodating,” Czapka says. “If we needed to work on Saturdays, they provided security.”
D2 Solutions is the architect, while AMA Consulting Engineers is providing engineering services.
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