"This project posed quite a challenge because of continuing office occupancy on the floors designated for future residential conversion," said George Figliolia, president of Builders Group, the construction manager and builder.

On Friday, George Figliolia, the president of Builders Group, and John Krupa, a vice president, pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree grand larceny in connection with the renovation of a New Jersey data center now owned by Equinix.

North Bergen, NJ - Data centers, a bright light in an otherwise sluggish time for construction, may seem straightforward, but are really minefields for error from incomplete planning, according to George Figliolia, president of Builders Group, a New York-based construction company that has built out several such facilities in the past few years. As an example, the firm cites its recently completed work for Switch and Data Facilities Company's 163,500 s/f complex. "Data centers may appear to be relatively simple and straightforward, but their external simplicity belies a host of special considerations and the need for extensive pre-construction planning that allows for creative solutions through the build process," said Figliolia.

According to George Figliolia, president of Builders Group, such conversions require a disciplined, well-thought-out approach to maintain an efficient plan and budget. "We go by a cliche here: When you are building a building new out of the ground, the only person in your way is yourself. But when you are renovating an existing structure, the problem is what was put there by the team prior, and sometimes the mistakes they made become problems and headaches for [you]," said Figliolia, whose company has worked on a number of historic projects in the New York City area, including many of the first conversions in Manhattan's red-hot Chelsea submarket. Inherently, Figliolia explained, taking a facility built for one purpose and converting it to another creates a clash. "To some degree you are fitting a circle into a square. So a more diligent or more aggressive program prior to the start of construction is necessary whenever there is a change of use," Figliolia said.

"This project posed quite a challenge because of continuing office occupancy on the floors designated for future residential conversion," says George J. Figliolia, president of Builders Group, the construction manager and builder on this project. "This project was a real test for our professional staff, the kind that stimulates creative energies and leads to cost-saving solutions," says Figliolia.