Endo, turnpike ramp could reinvigorate Malvern office park

by Natalie Kostelni

"IMC Construction is making headway in the construction of Endo Pharmaceuticals’ new headquarters at the Atwater Corporate Center in Malvern.

Already the construction company has cleared out 80,000 yards of dirt so that the complex will be positioned to overlook an 80-acre body of water created by a former quarry. The Endo (NASDAQ:ENDP) project was designed by L2 Partridge and is being developed by Trammel Crow Co.

It’s the first new construction for Atwater in a decade. Trammel Crow drew up plans for it in late 1999 and told East Whiteland it anticipated a seven to 10-year period to build out the 2.5 million-square-foot office park. The last time a building was constructed there was back in 2002 when Trammel Crow constructed a 151,477-square-foot structure that Allstate Insurance used to consolidate several of its offices. Ever since, the 388 acres that make up the corporate center at Route 29 and Yellow Springs Road has sat fallow.

With the Endo headquarters and finally the construction of a Pennsylvania Turnpike ramp at Route 29, I suspect progress at Atwater will pick up for tenants like Endo that are looking for build-to-suit opportunities. The turnpike interchange will likely have greater implications for other office parks in that area, including the Great Valley Corporate Center, Valley Creek Corporate Center and Uptown Worthington among others. Those commuting to the area no longer have to clog up local roads to get there. The turnpike ramp will also potentially reorient the gateway to Great Valley from Swedesford Road and Route 202 to the side where Atwater is located.

The Endo headquarters, which consists of two, five-story buildings totaling 320,000 square feet and a single-story parking deck for 420 vehicles, will certainly create a solid footprint in Atwater. Aside from having a full-service kitchen, cafeteria, training center and conference center, and an on-site exercise center, the complex will use water from the former quarry to feed a cooling loop for its geo-thermal HVAC system.

Dave Holveck, CEO of Endo, has said the company’s move from Chadds Ford will put Endo closer to the “heart” of the health-care corridor in Pennsylvania, where nearly 100 other health-care and life sciences companies are based. Earlier this week, the company said it has been affected by the Novartis recall because some of its products are made at the affected Novartis plant in Nebraska."
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