Construction of a second office building in the CAN DO Corporate Center is just about complete and officials of the economic development corporation are hoping the state-of-the art complex attracts new white-collar jobs to Greater Hazleton.
More than 50 people turned out today for the official ribbon cutting and dedication of the 49,500 square foot CAN DO Corporate Center Office Building #2, which is located in Drums along State Route 309, just south of Interstate 80. (For more information on the CAN DO Corporate Center, click here.)
"One year ago next month, we stood almost in this exact spot - under the cover of a tent - and spoke about our continuing desire to take every possible action to attract new companies and new jobs to Greater Hazleton," Robert J. Moisey, CAN DO's chairman of the board, told the audience.
"In a time when there are fewer and fewer projects to go around, economic development agencies are taking extraordinary steps to compete for the few companies that are looking for new homes or for a place to expand. Today, you're standing inside one of CAN DO's extraordinary measures."
Moisey went on to explain why he characterizes the project as extraordinary.
"We've taken risks constructing this beautiful office building without a tenant to give us an edge over other areas in attracting new white collar jobs. We also spent nearly 20 percent more on construction costs to make our new office building one of the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly office buildings in the Northeast," Moisey said.
These special energy-saving and ecological measures have earned the CAN DO Corporate Center Office Building #2 a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designation from the U.S. Green Building Council.
"As you walk through the hallways, look down at the ceramic tile. Each tile was manufactured with recycled materials. As you look out the windows, pay special attention to the aluminum frames which surround the glass. Those frames are constructed of recycled cans," Moisey said.
"And, if you visit the restrooms, take notice that each of the toilets are made with water conservation in mind. And you'll also see that we've built shower stalls in the restrooms for employees to use if they choose to ride their bicycle or walk or jog to work."
John R. Ackerman, P.E., CAN DO Director of Operations, detailed many more of the LEED standards which were incorporated into the building, including:
- Positioning the building so inside spaces receive plenty of natural light
- Using windows that include inert gases between the panes to reduce heat transfer between the inside and outside
- Reducing the heat buildup on the roof by using a light color, which is more reflective
- Purchasing some materials that are produced regionally to reduce transportation costs
- Installing bicycle racks and showers to promote alternative transportation
- Landscaping with water-efficient plants and designs to eliminate the need for irrigation
- Allowing for the eventual use of alternative fuel vehicles by installing charging stations
- Using Energy Star-compliant equipment throughout the building
- Installing can-type site lighting systems to prevent light from bleeding into adjacent areas
- Using low-emission adhesives, CFC-free HVAC systems, carbon monoxide monitors, and other technology to improve interior air quality for employees.
CAN DO President W. Kevin O'Donnell said marketing efforts to find a tenant, or as many as four individual tenants, for the building have begun. "We are reaching out to site selectors and commercial realtors across the United States through our marketing department newsletter and other means to tell them of the availability of this Class A office building," he said.
A short video touting the many benefits of the building and the CAN DO Corporate Center has been completed by CAN DO's marketing and public relations agency, Precision Design of Hazleton. The video was unveiled during the dedication event.
"We are going to have this video duplicated on compact discs and mailed with the next issue of the marketing newsletter. Hopefully, it will generate some excitement and interest and eventually a new tenant for our building.
"We did something similar with our first office building. We built the building hoping to land a company that wanted to locate somewhere quickly. That strategy paid off when Convergys agreed to lease the building before it was even finished," O'Donnell said. Convergys has since left the corporate center, but has been replaced by Network Solutions, a worldwide Internet technology leader that employs several hundred people inside the corporate park.
The new office building incorporates the latest technology required by white-collar, back-office business. In addition, it is strategically located near Interstate 80 at Route 309, giving tenants easy access to New York City .
Recently, a white paper commissioned by U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski suggested that companies in New York City maintain a redundant operations center within a certain distance of the city.
"This paper recommends that major corporations in New York City have a backup facility that can store data within one millisecond of an incident. While we hope such a tragedy never happens, we believe CAN DO can offer companies the capabilities they need," said Joseph Lettiere, CAN DO marketing director. "After all, New York City is only about two hours east of this new building."
The new office building is a design-build venture of The Quandel Group of Harrisburg and Highland Associates of Clarks Summit.
Another important advantage of the building is that it is located in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which means tenants will benefit from reduced state and local taxes.
"Most people do not realize that the KOZ program is generating tax revenue for area municipalities and the school district. New jobs mean new employees, which mean increased wage taxes. New jobs may mean a new home, which means new property taxes. And new jobs mean people can buy more things and support local businesses," O'Donnell said. "Besides, almost all companies considering a move to Pennsylvania today say, 'Only show me the KOZ sites.' "
Funding for the project came from many different sources, said Bernadette J. DeBias, CAN DO Director of Business Development.
"By bringing together various federal, state, and local agencies and groups, CAN DO was able to secure more than $6 million for the new office building," DeBias said. Also, PPL is assisting CAN DO in the project by paying a portion of the mortgage interest until a tenant is secured. Local banks, as part of the Greater Hazleton Clearinghouse Association, also assisted with funding. Citizens Bank was the lead bank and First Federal and M&T Bank also took part.
In 2002, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum visited CAN DO and presented a $2 million check from the U.S. Economic Development Administration . The Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority added roughly $1.75 million; and the Luzerne County Office of Community Development secured $400,000. Local financing rounded out the funding package.
"CAN DO invested more than $13 million for the first and second office buildings in the Corporate Center ," Moisey said. "This is a tremendous amount, especially since we didn't have a tenant for either building and both construction projects were speculative."
Speaking of the marketing effort, Lettiere said, "We are looking for tenants who need first-class office space. It is perfect for headquarters, back-office operations or high-tech companies. The building's flexible design will allow us to accommodate up to four tenants which makes it just right for firms that are expanding but don't need the entire building. The combination of design, location and the Keystone Opportunity Zone program will make this building very attractive to potential tenants."
CAN DO thanked federal, state, county and local officials who helped make the project possible.
"The federal, state and Luzerne County governments provided funding. Butler Township and the Hazleton Area School District agreed to waive their taxes as part of the KOZ program. Local lenders worked with us to create an attractive financing package. We at CAN DO thank all of them," Moisey said. "We always say economic development is a total team effort. We are grateful to our community partners."