LAWRENCE: Bristol-Myers Squibb to build large new office park

Having obtained approval for a proposed office park on Princeton Pike at Lewisville Road, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. plans to begin construction on its 650,000-square-foot office building in the fall, according to company officials.

The new office building, with four separate sections connected by a glass atrium and sky bridges, is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. The plan includes a fitness center, plus a food service and dining space. The sky bridges are intended to encourage employees to walk from one section to another.

The site plan, approved by the Lawrence Township Planning Board in June, also calls for parking spaces for 2,148 cars in the parking lots, along with preferred parking areas for hybrid vehicles and indoor bicycle racks.

There are no plans to develop the rear portion of the 134-acre property. It will remain farmland, which is rented out to a local farmer. A segment of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail on the new campus will link to a network of walking paths on the property. The plan also preserves the historic Brearley Oak at the front of the campus, opposite Lenox Drive.

This is the sixth version of the office park, which was approved for the RCN Corp. in 2000. The original plan called for 1.5 million square feet of office space in 10 buildings, plus nine parking garages. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. acquired the property in 2001 after RCN Corp. a cable and Internet service provider went out of business, and has scaled back the size of the office park.

The office park is the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.s second one in Lawrence Township. The former E.R. Squibb and Sons pharmaceutical company opened its worldwide headquarters on Route 206 at Province Line Road in 1971. Squibb merged with the Bristol-Myers Co. in 1989, and made the new company made the former Squibb property its worldwide headquarters.

"We are proud to expand our presence in Lawrence Township, a community that has been home to our company for more than 40 years," said Lamberto Andreotti, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.s chief executive officer.

"Our new campus will create a dynamic and modern workplace to advance the important work that our employees are doing to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines for patients with serious diseases," Mr. Andreotti said.

Lawrence Township and Mercer County officials also expressed approval about the impending construction of the new office building.

Mayor Cathleen Lewis said she is "excited" that the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has decided to increase its investment in Lawrence Township. The company has been "a constant partner" in making Lawrence Township a great community, she said.

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LAWRENCE: Bristol-Myers Squibb to build large new office park