$15 million, 45,000-sq.-foot structure to house new headquarters for tech company

IFM Efector will relocate its headquarters to a new building that will be constructed at the Atwater Corporate Center in Malvern, Pa.

Trammell Crow Co. will construct the $15 million, two-story, 45,000-square-foot structure.

“We’ve been in the United States since 1985 and really excited about the next chapter for our company,” said Roger Varma, chief executive officer for IFM Efector.

IFM Efector, which designs and builds sensors used in a range of industries, currently leases 35,000 square feet at 782 Springdale Drive in Exton, Pa., and is nearing the end of its lease. It used the lease expiration as a trigger to explore its options for new office space and how it will use that space to position itself for the future.

“We’re a technology company and we worry about our brand and image in the market,” Varma said. “As a tech company, we want the right image.”

The company also found that it was increasingly using its space with its customers.

With the new Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange at Route 29, IFM Efector decided to look for new space in the Malvern area and took into consideration the driving distance of its employees. The company also wanted the design of its new offices to be contemporary with an open space concept that allowed more natural light to come in and more room where employees can gather, Varma said. It also features added amenities for employees, such as an exercise facility and cafe.

“We wanted to give employees an environment where they could thrive and have shared spaces that will encourage movement in the building for collaboration,” he said.

Bernardon Haber Holloway Architects designed the structure while Nelson is designed its interior.

For Trammell Crow, the building will add another headquarters to Atwater and to that part of the Route 29 corridor in Malvern. Other companies that have constructed new buildings over the last year or so in that area include CubeSmart, Vanguard Group and Endo Pharmaceuticals.

“Where else in the market are you seeing so many build-to-suits?” said Jeff Goggins, senior managing director at Trammell Crow Co., which is the master developer of Atwater. “I think it shows the benefit of that interchange and that older buildings constructed in the 1970s and 1980s are functionally obsolete today.”

Companies are increasingly looking for efficient spaces that allow more natural light to come in, glass walls and amenities that go with being in a corporate setting, Goggins said.

IFM Efector has 100 employees and will seek to add about 75 more people during the next seven years. Most of those positions will be in engineering, financing, information technology and marketing.

Trammell Crow is expected to break ground this August and complete construction by next summer. Gola Corporate Real Estate represented IFM Efector in the transaction and CBRE Inc. handled the landlord’s side of the deal. IMC Construction is the general contractor.

Source Philadelphia Business Journal