Blue Rock News July 2011

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Blue Rock Construction Builds New Headquarters
for Penn Jersey Paper

Blue Rock Construction recently constructed Penn Jersey Paper Company's first new facility in its 47-year history - a 255,000-square-foot warehouse and office building on a 30-acre site in Northeast Philadelphia. This new $18 million LEED Silver headquarters (pending certification) and distribution facility includes 60 staging areas with 40 truck docks, high-efficiency motion-sensor lighting and ESFR fire-suppression system.

"Penn Jersey is a family owned business and this facility was designed to reflect their company's professionalism and personality," said Paul Nehrbas, project manager for Blue Rock Construction.

Blue Rock coordinated work with Penn Jersey Paper, the project developer – Dermody Properties/DP Partners, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) and the city of Philadelphia's license and inspection departments to ensure a smooth transition and production startup within 10 months of the project start.

"The hard work of the Blue Rock team on this project was really appreciated," said James Mascaro, Director of Development for DP Partners. "This was not your normal project, it came with many challenges and the Blue Rock team handled them professionally on every level."

"Blue Rock conducted weekly meetings with Penn Jersey and DP Partners to review the delivery and installation of all owner-supplied items," said Nehrbas. "Penn Jersey had several vendors that Blue Rock coordinated with its subcontractors."

Penn Jersey's new headquarters is just a short drive from its original building and its employees will enjoy improvements including a 32,000 square foot office featuring two cafeterias, a test kitchen, training rooms and locker areas.

To qualify for LEED Silver Certification, many green design elements were incorporated into the design such as motion-sensor activated lighting that will reduce energy cost by as much as 30 percent; indoor air quality measures; and low-flow restroom fixtures to conserve water. Site design elements included an extensive storm-water management system with three retention basins to control runoff and water quality. During the construction phase 90 percent of the construction waste was recycled.

"DP Partners is proud to have Penn Jersey as a client, Blue Rock as our Construction Manager and both companies as partners on this venture," said Mascaro.

For over 47 years, Penn Jersey has been a fully integrated distributor of packaging, paper, janitorial chemicals, consumables and equipment for various business types. Penn Jersey customers include: supermarkets, food service operations, healthcare organizations, bakeries, packer processors, re-distribution companies, and industrial and retail companies.

Dermody Properties is the parent company of DP Partners, and is a privately held national developer of industrial properties. Its 50 year history of excellent customer service and visionary development strategy has consistently made it one of the top 10 industrial developers in the nation. It has regional offices in Reno, Portland, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Since 1995, Blue Rock has provided professional construction-related services for over 20 million square feet of commercial and industrial property located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, Connecticut, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.