PROJECT OVERVIEW
ON3, a 116-acre redevelopment, sits on the former site of Hoffmann-LaRoche’s iconic research campus along Route 3 straddling Nutley and Clifton, New Jersey. Acquired in 2016, the sprawling, mixed-use project capitalizes on its highway access and its proximity to Manhattan.
Dailey Precast constructed a large parking facility on the mixed use site for developer Prism Capital Partners. The ON3 Metro parking garage is seven levels and at 866,000 SF it supports both 100 and 200 Metro Boulevard office buildings. With plans to add a hotel and retail, the development intends to embrace the live, work, play status of true mixed use destinations.
The 2,500 space parking garage abuts a courtyard with common areas for social and business gatherings. The stair and elevator towers provide access to the Class A office towers and feature a curtain-wall glass exterior with views of Manhattan skyline.
Designed by Aztec Architects, the white precast concrete exterior of the garage contrasts with the curtainwall on the surrounding buildings and its own enclosed stair towers. The crisp white color evokes limestone found on the nearby offices as well as the lab coats worn by the physicians, interns, researchers and scientists that work and park there.
The custom exterior spandrels feature a unique basket weave form liner finish, which gives this structure a dynamic appearance. The rhythmic pattern across the façade changes in sunlight and gives the impression of movement while the spandrels also serve as structural barriers. The attractive pattern on the exterior provides aesthetic value to the surrounding campus and helps to counter balance the large scale of this enormous garage.
The design/build project supports the parking needs of the adjacent office buildings while it fits within the triangular shaped site. The result can be seen from an aerial view, where the saw tooth layout respects the western edge of the parcel, also constrained by a rail line. The project team maximized the bay spacing and number of spaces within the angular layout.
Completed in 2020, erection of 1,625 precast components was finished in 5 months and special attention needed to be taken to work around the existing network of steam tunnels for the on-site co-gen plant that supplies heat and power to the campus.
Its unique location straddling the Nutley-Clifton border added additional complications to the approval and permitting process. The garage needed to be completed quickly to meet the opening of the new Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. The students will help populate what Prism envisions as a walkable, downtown-style environment 10 miles from New York City.
The garage had to satisfy the requirements of both towns including access for emergency vehicles and while allowing zero foot-candles or no light shining over the property line itself. The exception was for the pedestrian walkways that provide access to the structure and along the zero lot line where the garage is adjacent to the perimeter roadway.
Ongoing efforts to rebuild the tenant population on campus include corporate, life sciences, biotech and educational companies. The developer anticipates that more than 5,500 people will be employed at ON3 by the end of 2021.
ON3 has evolved into a world-class, mixed-use setting integrating office and R&D facilities, recreational, retail and hospitality. The growing population and future development necessitated the construction using a precast concrete system for the ON3 metro garage. |