Global Company Moves Office Location to Silverdale Commons (Photos)

Johnson City will continue to be home to a the primary central laboratory operations facility of LabConnect, LLC, which provides laboratory and scientific operations support services to its biopharmaceutical, medical device, and contract research organization clients. The Seattle-based company is currently managing more than 200 clinical trials across 51 countries.

Formerly located in 15,000 square feet of Mitch Cox office space in Boones Creek, LabConnect will be growing into 40,033 square feet in its new office in Silverdale Commons off of Princeton Road. The new custom-built operations center includes state-of-the-art sample management and biorepository facilities, efficient custom kit-building operations, redundant back-up power generation, and convenient offices and meeting rooms for clients and visitors.

Due to an increase in demand, LabConnect is expanding its operations within Johnson City – a business environment the company has found favorable.

In a press release, Jonathan Siegel, LabConnect CFO, said, “The company analyzed the possibility of moving elsewhere as it prepares for continued rapid growth over the next several years. That process resulted in management recognizing this area’s workforce, business climate, tax structure, central location and cost of living all pointed toward staying put.” Siegel said the real estate solution offered by Mitch Cox had the best value, timing, and options for their company.

Eric Hayashi, president and chief executive officer of LabConnect commented “We spent a lot of time researching office design best practices and collecting input from our employees because the office is primarily designed for them: happy, productive employees translate to delighted clients.” LabConnect’s intent was to provide employees the ability to work flexibly in both quiet private spaces as well as public environments including an expansive café-like break room, various “magnet” areas with whiteboards, a living room like environment and even an outdoor patio—all to encourage spontaneous, fun and comfortable places to collaborate. “Overall our intent is to communicate LabConnect’s brand and Tennessee flavor at the same time.”

In the previous office, LabConnect had to fit the mold of an existing office building, whereas now, the Silverdale office is being custom-designed to meet the specific needs of the growing company.

Odell Cash, Project Manager with Mitch Cox Construction, said, “We have 25-30 subs drywalling, putting up ceiling frames, and painting right now. The next step is to put in the finish items such as polishing concrete, laying carpet, and installing wood cabinetry.”

Greg Forgey, Operations Manager in Johnson City for LabConnect, is looking forward to the move. He said, “Our staff has worked hard over the past few years to make this move happen; we see this as the fruition of our labor.”