|
Express Scripts Project
Three-in-One Office Meets Present, Future Needs
by Elaine Schmidt
The $36 million Express Scripts building, a design-build
project under construction in St. Louis, brings present and
possible future uses of the building together on a site with
remnants of the recent past.
Located on Interstate 70 west of St. Louis, the three-story,
314,000-sq.-ft. building will serve as corporate headquarters
for Express Scripts Inc., one of the nation's largest pharmacy
benefit management firms. Construction began in December and
will be complete in April.
"Speed is why we went design-build," said Chris
McKee, president of O'Fallon, Mo.-based McEagle Properties
LLC, which is part of the project's ownership entity, St.
Louis-based NorthPark Partners ESI.
"Express Scripts wanted to be in the building by March
or April 2007. We had a raw site with some major issues, so
we had no other way but design-build to meet their schedule."
The site contained a creek, had road and soil issues and existing
utilities were moved. Construction began just as winter hit.
Meeting Design Needs
The design had to meet the needs of Express Scripts but be
flexible enough to adapt to whatever needs that an owner in
the future might have.
John Moench, project manager for the project's St. Louis-based
architectural consultant, Christner Inc., said, "A build-to-suit
usually involved ownership, but Express Scripts is a tenant
with the option to renew (its) lease in the future or move out
if its business changes or it outgrows the facility."
The solution was found in creating a structure that positioned
three wings around a central core space. The core and the atrium
it houses are the focal point of the building. One of the wings
has some additional lower-level space that will house Express
Scripts' dining area that opens to outdoor patio space.
"Each of the buildings is really independent of the others,"
Moench said. "In terms of exiting, circulating and things
like toilet room counts, they are really separate buildings."
The concept of three buildings united by a central atrium grew
out of the idea of a village.
"We have had a lot of experience creating neighborhoods
or villages out of office space," McEagle's McKee added.
"We started with the premise of a central focal point where
people had to interact. We believe that casual interaction in
a space like that creates more productivity and gives more of
a village feel to an office building."
The idea of separate wings was driven by the three major business
units Express Scripts.
"We also thought the wings could be easily isolated for
multiple tenants in the future, should we need to," McKee
said.
Site Affects Design
The project's site was a factor in the design.
"This is a steel-frame building, standard metal stud and
sheeting, with a brick exterior and aluminum and glass in-fills,"
said Ron Rolfes, project manager for Clayco, a member of the
St. Louis-based Clayco/Paric Joint Venture serving as the general
contractor. The skin was chosen in part to mesh with the buildings
of the surrounding University of Missouri at St. Louis campus.
An existing neighborhood road went through the middle of the
buildings. In addition to relocating the road, crews had to
move the layers of utilities that went with it.
Rolfes said crews moved quickly and completed three-fourths
of the building's footings before the transfer of a main power
line was made. The power line fed four communities to the west
and two to the east, and it was important that the switchover
be smooth.
A creek running through the site also caused concern.
"We needed to maintain a fast schedule on a building that
abuts a creek that can't be interfered with," Rolfes said.
"We had to do slope control and protection of the creek."
McKee said the fact that the build-to-suit project owned by
someone other than the entity that will occupy the building,
as well as the mix of players involved in the project's design
and construction, have been assets.
NorthPark, the owner, is a partnership between McEagle and the
real estate arm of Clayco. In addition, a sister company of
Clayco's, Paric, is working on the project.
"Frankly, because of the relationships between the owners
and Clayco and Paric on the construction side, we have been
able to do things more quickly," McKee said. "It's
not like we had a third party owner that didn't understand
construction. The common language made decision making much
easier and faster than it would have been otherwise."
Click
here for Next Feature >>
|
print this page
e-mail this page
