By Paul Minnis, The Republic
pminnis@therepublic
Four stories of steel, glass and environmentally friendly materials will spring to life Wednesday as workers begin moving into the new Cummins office complex.
The public will get its first look at the facility from the inside during a Saturday open house.
CSO Architects and Koetter Kim Associates designed the facility, and Dykstra Building Co. built it, starting in April 2008.
Some workers on Thursday still worked in the building, where sounds of vacuums and finishing touches finally have replaced the sounds of drills and machinery.
About 30 of the more than 500 Cummins employees who ultimately will work in the building will move Wednesday into the first floor, said Todd Clark, Cummins' director of global real estate.
He said the newcomers will consist of 14 to 18 from the recruiting division and 10 to 12 from the communications division. Cummins expects to fill the first two floors by the end of 2009.
"Most of the 500 employees are already here (in Columbus)," said Tracy Souza, a Cummins executive.
The parking garage under construction west of the courthouse should be completed by the end of June, officials said. Until then, workers primarily will use parking at Cummins' corporate headquarters about a block north.
Clark said the transition of employees to the new building will go slowly, partly because of financial efficiency. He said some employees are in rental offices citywide in which leases may not expire for months.
Building connections
The new Cummins building is supposed to attach to the future Commons, Candlewood Suites and Richard L. Johnson Conference and Education Center.
Building The Commons is on hold during a 30-day remonstrance that starts its signature phase today, while construction of the hotel and conference center are on hold as developer Tim Dora waits to see how the remonstrance plays out.
Dora also owns the new Cummins office complex. Cummins will occupy it under a 10-year lease, with an option to buy.
Cummins officials hope the U.S. Green Building Council will certify the building for its small environmental footprint and energy efficiency.
It would be Cummins' first LEED-certified building in the U.S. and the second in the world, with the other in India.
Touring Cummins
People who tour it will find a building with cubicles and offices, but also nontraditional attributes.
The main door on the first floor opens first to a glass entryway, then to a lobby that will be the first thing vendors and other visitors see when they arrive.
The lobby will have leather chairs, bar stools and places for computers. A world map with continents depicted with Cummins products eventually will be drawn on a dark-glass wall.
Walls are maroon in some areas and whitish in others. Bamboo, an environmentally friendly wood that replaces itself rapidly in nature, makes up some flooring, tables and walls.
Cubicles and private offices are installed on the first floor, and the same eventually will be installed on the other three floors.
Each floor will have a vending area and a room for nursing mothers. The first floor will have showers and changing rooms for workers who want to exercise on their breaks.
Energy efficiency extends beyond the glass exterior for natural light and white roof that reflects the temperaturehiking sunlight.
Cummins employees will be encouraged to ride bicycles to work because of an exterior door that leads to an interior ramp.
At the end of the ramp is a room with bicycle racks and lockers.
"Not only will the new facility allow us to organize our employees in Columbus more efficiently and give us room to grow in the future, but it has been designed in a way that is consistent with the company's commitment to the environment and to the revitalization of downtown," Clark said.