Vistakon

Vistakon is the disposable contact lens group of Johnson and Johnson.

A new office, manufacturing and distribution facility for Vistakon was completed in 1993 in Jacksonville, Florida.

General contractor was the RR Simmons Construction Corporation of Tampa, Florida. Ocean Concrete Contractors of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, served as Tilt-Up sub-contractors for the project.

Because Vistakon already enjoys significant market share of the disposable lens industry, and because Johnson and Johnson expects this industry to grow, a decision was made to develop a corporate campus with an initial construction of 140,000 square feet but with the capability to ultimately contain over 750,000 square feet of corporate office, research and development, and advanced manufacturing. The Vistakon building is located in Jacksonville's Deerwood Park Manufacturing Center. The site encompasses more than 25 acres.

Architects for this project were Rink Reynolds Architects and engineers were England, Thims, and Miller, Inc. Both firms are located in Jacksonville.

Completed cost was over $10.6 million. The project was constructed using a Tilt-Up exterior skin with a steel frame.

The largest panels are 25 x 38 feet and are a maximum of 10 inches thick. All panels are load bearing.

The building features integrated pilasters and exterior walls. Sand textured acrylic paint was used.

A fast-track delivery system was utilized. The entire 140,000 square feet achieved project dry-in only 90 days from ground breaking. The facility was fully operational just seven months from project start. In order to achieve this pace the project team adopted a partnering format with vendors, sub-contractors, and designers to keep lines of communication open and the project on schedule.