FM Global to open new Johnston HQ

JOHNSTON – FM Global, one of the world’s largest business property insurers, plans to officially dedicate its new corporate headquarters in Johnston today.

The four-story, 367,600-square-foot building will house 900 employees and is located next to the company’s current corporate offices on Central Avenue. The Providence-based firm Vision 3 Architects designed the $154 million complex, which includes offices, meeting rooms, a fitness center, a dining area and a four-story parking garage.

Employees are expected to start moving in on Sept. 28 and complete the move by October.

About 100 subcontractors took two years to construct the building on the 93-acre property. FM Global spokesman Steven Zenofsky estimates the project generated 1,150 jobs and 700,000 contractor hours for local workers. Dimeo Construction served as the project manager.

FM Global is also submitting the building for gold LEED certification, which is awarded to buildings that incorporate environmentally-friendly features. Zenofsky said the company constructed two tunnels under a roadway to allow animals to travel under the road to the nearby wetlands. The firm also used natural plantings, installed a system to collect rainwater to use for irrigation and limited development on the parcel to about 25 acres.

Inside, the company installed ultraviolet light machines in the ventilation system to zap bacteria before it enters the building, and 90 percent of the construction waste was recycled. And 90 percent of employee office space has views to the outside for ample natural lighting.

“It’s really just designed to be a really aesthetically pleasing place for our employees to work,” Zenofsky said.

The company also turned to its own engineering staff for advice. Normally the company lends its design tips to its clients looking to construct buildings that can withstand natural disasters and fires.

“From a loss prevention standpoint this is one of the best, if not the best, protected building in the state,” Zenofsky said. “Our philosophy is build it to last.”

FM Global spent about 40 years in its prior office building, which it leased. Zenofsky said he did not know what would happen to the soon-to-be vacant building.

CapLease Inc., the New York-based real estate investment trust that owns FM Global’s current building, released a statement this morning that congratulated FM Global on its new headquarters and expressed optimism about the potential to rent the space.

“The broad economy in the U.S. and the local economy in Rhode Island remain challenging but we believe the worst is behind us,” the company said. “We are eager to have full access to our building so we can continue the work begun by our architects to update the building as we face the challenge to re-lease it.”

A host of officials are expected to join FM Global chairman and CEO Shivan Subramaniam in the formal dedication of the company’s new world headquarters this afternoon, including Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena.

The 174-year-old company says it insures more than one out of every three Fortune 1000 companies and similar-sized organizations in more than 130 countries. It employs about 5,100 people at 61 offices throughout the world.

Additional information is available at FMGlobal.com.