Bayer CropScience, last week, announced renovations to its North American headquarters in North Carolina. The $33 million project, scheduled for completion in 2015, will allow the company to accommodate substantial growth. Completed facilities will eventually house more than 700 employees working on developments in sustainable agricultural solutions.
“Bayer CropScience is dedicated to being a pivotal organization in the socio-economic life of the Research Triangle Park” said Jim Blome, CEO of Bayer CropScience LP.
The company’s office renovation is the latest in a series of recent investments in the RTP area. Noting the area’s potential for promoting bioscience growth and innovation through community and economic investment, Bayer CropScience moved the company’s global Seeds headquarters from France to RTP in 2012.
Other initiatives at the North American headquarters include opening a $20 million, 60,000-square-foot greenhouse; a $2.1 million, 6,000-square-foot state-of-the-art North American Bee Care Center; and a $16.1 million, 40,000-square-foot Development North America research facility. The greenhouse, which is being used for soy, corn and other broadacre crop research, serves as one of the country’s premier locations for bioscience research and development. It boasts numerous environmentally-friendly features, including a 70,000 gallon underground water storage tank that will harvest rainwater for plant irrigation and is expected to reduce consumption of potable water at the facility by approximately 700,000 gallons annually.
The building will be designed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards, including LED lighting and highly efficient mechanical systems. In addition, the renovated building offers increased natural light, a wellness center with a medical office, an employee store, and a dedicated conference center. Natural materials and modern design elements will be used throughout the building, reflecting the relationship between agriculture and the high-tech work Bayer employees do each day to feed a growing population.
The company also recently invested $6.2 million in the purchase of 70 acres of land north of its current property to allow for future facility expansion.
