After a decade of building bank branches, J.T. Magen delivers Capital One’s headquarters on Long Island
J.T. Magen worked seamlessly with Capital One and client rep JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) on 80 projects around Long Island and New York City before the financial giant decided they needed larger corporate headquarters. With such a well-established working relationship, Capital One tapped J.T. Magen for the 220,000 sq. ft. corporate offices in Melville, NY designed by IA/Interior Architects.
“Capital One continues to give us new projects because they know whenever there is a design change, we have their best interest first and foremost in regard to cost and schedule impact,” says Hank Hintze, J.T. Magen project executive.
“Initially we saved them $450,000 through value engineering, and as the job progressed, there were zero frivolous change orders. Project timing never went off track – when the furniture was delivered, all construction was completed. That never happens,” emphasizes Hintze.
Capital One project challenges
The logistics of getting materials into the building in a timely manner was the biggest challenge, says Hintze. The solution: remove the windows and part of the façade on the upper floors and use a boom truck to lift the materials up and into the gap. “It was easier than using the elevator, which requires breaking everything down to small sizes and then taking time to reassemble,” he adds.
Also critical to project timing was expediting the delivery of the 13 rooftop heating and air conditioning units, and using a crane to lift them to the roof, says Hintze. The HVAC had to be hooked up before the drop ceilings could be installed, and the walls, lights and carpet had to wait until after the ceiling was installed, so that initial delivery had to be timely, he explains.
The Capital One project passed all inspections by the Suffolk County Fire Marshall on the first round, an achievement Hintze attributes to good work and communication with the Fire Marshall through all stages of the project.