Mojo Stumer Associates has transformed a dilapidated 1960s office building on Northern Boulevard into the global headquarters of a chemical distribution company, the private architecture studio announced.
“Everybody going from Queens to Long Island and from Long Island back to Queens is going to drive past this,” said George Cumella, an associate and project manager at Mojo Stumer Associates. “It really sets the standard for the entire Northern Blvd. corridor, which is fantastic.”
277 Northern Blvd. is now the office building of Mojo Stumer’s client Wego Chemical Group, a global distributor of chemicals including cleaning products and pharmaceuticals.
The existing building had a lot of problems, including structural issues with the parking deck and deterioration of the exterior, Cumella said.
“They were looking to reinvent, completely convert, renovate the entire building, modernize it and then occupy it almost in its entirety from their headquarters,” he said.
At first, Mojo Stumer planned on using the concrete panels from the original exterior, but they were too damaged, Cumella said. This pushed the firm to replace them with fiber cement and redo the entire exterior, Cumella said.
The firm created a tricolor gray pixelation pattern across the building’s exterior to give the building a contemporary feel.
“We labored over that pattern. We wanted to make sure there was no repetition in it,” Cumella said. “It’s also like DNA in terms of coding. So there was DNA encoding in the facade, which was fantastic, and then those gray tones transferred into the building so that there’s a unison and harmony between the interior and the exterior.”
The interior now includes work spaces like conference rooms, a boardroom and huddle rooms as well as amenities like a cafe and a lounge. It was important to Wego Chemical Group to maximize light, Cumella said.
“It’s not just because I work for the firm, but I feel very passionately that this is among the best office/commercial buildings on Long Island,” Cumella said. “Everybody passes by, including myself on my commute.”
In August, Mojo Stumer Associates announced the completion of Bryant Plaza, a collection of 54 one-and two-bedroom rental apartments in Roslyn. The firm spent eight years on the project.
