| June 4, 2009 KSS Wins NJBIA 2009 New Good Neighbor Award PRINCETON, N.J.--KSS Architects LLP has won New Jersey Business & Industry Association's 2009 New Good Neighbor Award for their design of AMB Liberty Logistics Center in Newark. The awards luncheon will be held on Jun. 5 at the Woodbridge Hotel and Conference Center in Iselin, N.J. Since 1960, NJBIA has presented the award to companies that have constructed, expanded or renovated buildings and development projects with significant economic benefit to the community, community involvement and architectural merit. Stefan Pryor, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development in the City of Newark, nominated AMB Liberty Logistics Center for the distinction. The project team includes KSS Architects, site developer AMB Property Corporation, general contractor RC Andersen LLC, structural engineer Harrison-Hamnett, P.C., and Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, which is monitoring the groundwater. Edmund Klimek, AIA, a partner at KSS, said the 191,000 square-feet distribution center provides many benefits to Newark. "AMB Liberty Logistics Center returns new industry and new jobs back to the city," said Klimek. "The project took a former set of abandoned industrial sites and combined them to create a new viable industrial site that was includes environmental remediation. It's industry, but clean industry." In 1947, Penick Pharmaceuticals first developed the 9-acre site for chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing. When operations ceased in 2005, the site contained about 30 industrial buildings that had produced hazardous materials, including inorganic chemicals, opiate narcotics, codeine and morphine. The brownfield site also had asbestos and lingering underground storage tanks, which had the potential risk of contaminating groundwater. Despite the site's need for extensive environmental remediation, AMB and KSS saw an opportunity to redevelop and revitalize the land for distribution and industrial use. Its incredible location, adjacent to Newark International Airport, the NJ Turnpike, Port Newark and an extensive railroad system, provides unparalleled access to multiple modes of transportation from which the distribution center can receive and distribute goods across the country. AMB Liberty Logistics Center will also play a significant role in the economic revitalization of the City of Newark. It will provide millions of dollars in revenue as industrial development in the region grows. In fact, within months of its completion, the building attracted its first tenant, Mimeo, which leases about one-third of the warehouse. AMB Liberty Logistics Center has the potential to create 100 to 200 fulltime jobs for the local, skilled workforce, some of which remains from the area's former industrial prosperity. It was important to the team and local planning board that the project be sustainable and environmentally sensitive. The project team took six months to remediate the site and abate the asbestos. After demolishing the existing and extensive infrastructure, the team salvaged 100,000 board feet of timber, 200 tons of scrap metal, and 25,000 tons of crushed concrete, brick and asphalt, a significant portion of which was used in the new construction. KSS designed the building with several environmentally sustainable features. Exterior walls were constructed with insulated precast concrete panels, which require less time, equipment and fuel to erect on site than poured concrete. The building's white thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roof membrane will reduce solar heat gain. The team installed vapor barrier and monitoring wells to monitor the existing underwater storage tanks. The distribution center also features 36-feet clear ceiling height, 32 loading docks, two drive-in ramps, 33 spaces of trailer storage and 130 parking spaces. |
| June 1, 2009 KSS Architects Designs Sustainable Headquarters and Distribution Center for Empire Merchants North PRINCETON, N.J.--KSS Architects is designing a new 250,000 square-feet corporate headquarters and distribution center for Empire Merchants North in the town of Coxsackie in Greene County, N.Y. Upon completion, the $27.5 million project will strive to achieve LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Edmund Klimek, AIA, partner at KSS Architects, said the project represents a growing trend in the commercial real estate market. "This project works to be green in every respect," Klimek said. "We designed the building to be environmentally sensitive and worked closely with Greene County representatives to create an architecture that fits well with its environment, using stonework and material that is found locally. Similarly, Empire Merchants North is applying sustainable principles to their logistics systems by incorporating equipment such as energy-efficient conveyers and motors." Empire Merchants North, one of New York's largest distributors of wine and distilled beverages, wanted to build a state-of-the-art corporate headquarters and distribution center in upstate New York to improve accessibility and distribution logistics. In Coxsackie they identified a 21-acre site in Kalkberg Commerce Park, which was developed by Greene Industrial Development Agency in partnership with Sen. James Seward and several state, local and community organizations. Working on an aggressive schedule, KSS Architects teamed with design-build firm BBL Construction Services, based in Albany, N.Y., to plan and design the project. The project team secured approvals from the township planning board in less than two months. When complete, the 250,000 square-foot-facility will have 35,000 sf of office space and 220,000 sf warehouse space. The site will also accommodate a potential 130,000 sf warehouse expansion. The building's sustainable features include construction materials with a high percentage of recycled content, such as steel and concrete, and materials that are manufactured regionally, meaning within a 500-mile radius of the project. Compared to a conventional facility of equivalent size and use, the building will use 25 percent less energy due to energy-efficient design features such as increased building insulation. Highly efficient toilet fixtures will save an estimated 140,000 gallons of potable water per year. The site landscaping will further reduce water usage because it requires no irrigation beyond rainwater. The building will have a white roof to minimize heat island effect. Empire has also decided to reinforce the roof structure to allow for the potential installation of solar panels in the future. Hybrid vehicles and carpools will be given preferred parking spaces to encourage fuel-efficient transportation practices. The facility's operational components also feature an energy efficient conveyor system, a logistics program to reduce trucking fuel consumption, highly efficient battery charging stations for warehouse equipment and the elimination of any truck idling at the loading docks. KSS is supervising the project's LEED registration and submission processes. To be recognized as LEED Certified, the project must demonstrate it meets a certain number of sustainable design requirements specified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Klimek said the team designed the industrial facility specifically for Empire Merchants. "It meets their needs, expresses the high quality of their company, and will create a great place to work," he said. Empire Merchants North corporate headquarters and distribution center broke ground in March. Construction is expected to finish in Dec. 2009. The new facility will consolidate existing facilities in Colonie and Kingston, N.Y. Empire Merchants has said it intends to offer employment to its current workers at the new location. |
