Projects

Pharmaceutical Case Studies

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Hopewell Campus
Hopewell, New Jersey

Torcon was hired as construction manager by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Company to assist in evaluating a newly purchased site in Hopewell, New Jersey. The scope of services included advising BMS's design team and managing a site-wide program of renovations. The challenge was to provide new electrical and mechanical systems, sprinklers, building controls, security systems, lights, lab and office furniture, research equipment, and finishes to approximately 700,000 square feet of laboratory, office and computer center facilities. To heighten the challenge, most of the facilities were needed for occupancy within the first six months.

In one of the most aggressive construction programs ever undertaken by BMS, Torcon completed the upgrade and fit-out of 10 buildings on the 433-acre campus. Torcon efficiently managed the ultra-fast-paced program, often working from sketches and written descriptions of work because engineering drawings could not be produced quickly enough. Additionally, there were significant scope changes mid-course to accommodate the new direction of BMS’s research programs.

BMS took title of the Hopewell property on a Friday; Torcon mobilized its staff to the site the following Monday and moved the first BMS occupants into their spaces six weeks later. More than 800 BMS staffers were moved in within the first five months of the project in accordance with a schedule that tracked 29 separate occupancies. Each building at the site had phased occupancies, which created complications relating to noise, dust and fumes; to testing critical systems such as life safety; and to disrupting building and lab services. Construction operations were conducted seven days a week for more than 45 straight weeks, including over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.