Enough room for indoor drone flights … enough cooling to do quantum computing at extraordinarily low temperatures … enough power to meet electrical needs that are exponentially greater than a standard office complex … enough strength and support to handle floor loads that are much heavier than your standard tower.
Then, there’s this: The next-to-nothing vibration requirement in a building that will be far more vertical than horizontal — and situated on a busy urban intersection.
The rumored needs for the new Nokia Bell Labs facility that is coming to the HELIX in New Brunswick are fascinating and provide an architectural challenge of the first order — one that SJP Properties founder and CEO Steve Pozycki and his team said they are eager to take on.
“Every aspect of what will be in this building and how this building performs will be into detail that will be mind-boggling,” he said. “This will be the state-of-the-art research & development electronic lab in the country, if not the world.”
That’s why SJP and Nokia had been working together for months before the move was formally announced earlier in December. And why Pozycki expects another year of planning and preparation before a shovel is put into the ground.
The approximately 250-foot-high building, likely to be 10 stories and 350,000 square feet, will not be ready until 2028. For good reason.
Pozycki said the plans for a building such as this involve far more than just the work of a firm — but the work of 50 professionals that that are intricately involved in the project.
“It’s integrating those (ideas) and then doing enough iterations to make sure it’s perfect,” he said. “It’s all about what happens before construction begins, and how prepared you are for that.”
SJP, of course, brings decades of experience working on world-class buildings to those meetings.
The firm not only is the leader in intricate build-to-suit projects in the state — with M Station in Morristown just one of the latest examples — it also is more involved in the life science sector than many may realize.
Alex Erdos, the senior vice president for leasing and marketing at SJP, rattled off some of the firm’s recent work involving Qualcomm, iconnectiv and Juniper Networks in Bridgewater.
“These are all companies that have robust technical needs,” he said. “A lot of the infrastructure in some of our buildings is so advanced, but it’s behind the scenes.”
Pozycki said completing the task will be a team effort — one that will have the company talking with vendors from around the globe. But, the most important collaboration comes in New Jersey, he said.
Pozycki praised New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill for making the city a business-friendly environment. He went out of his way to credit Chris Paladino and Merissa Buczny at New Brunswick Development Corp., the master developer of the site, too.
And then, there is his own staff at SJP.
“We had catchphrase when we started out: Success is in the detail,” he said. “I have 150 people that work for me, and they all have that passion. The whole organization has been geared to be like that.
“People say, ‘Oh, you’re tough and demanding.’ Our business is tough and demanding.”
Pozycki said that dedication and determination make projects like this one easier to take on.
“I’m ecstatic about the people that work for us — and with us,” he said.
Erdos agreed, thanking Nokia for the confidence it has placed in SJP for its once-in-100-years project.
“It speaks volumes that they chose us, and they chose this location,” he said. “I think it really was one of the most flattering and best endorsements we could possibly get.”
