The new San Diego FBI headquarters in Sorrento Valley is 250,000 square feet. Kristina Davis

SORRENTO VALLEY — The technology and biotech giants of Sorrento Valley have a new neighbor — the FBI.

San Diego’s new FBI headquarters is a massive glass-fronted complex that sits atop a hill overlooking Interstate 805. The completed $120 million project provides more security and space for the 400 or so special agents and support staff who serve the county.

Employees began slowly moving into the new building last week, using the holiday weekend to transport sensitive materials under armed guard.

A flag-raising ceremony Tuesday morning will mark the first day of business at their new digs, off Vista Sorrento Parkway.

They are vacating the office compound in Kearny Mesa that has served as their headquarters since 1995, as well as other smaller offices leased around the area, bringing most of the bureau under one roof.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force and a North County branch will remain in separate offices.

The building was designed first and foremost with security in mind.

Unlike the old headquarters, visitors are screened through a small, separate building that puts guards behind bullet-resistant glass and drywall. The entire compound is surrounded by spiked fencing “that can stop a fully-loaded semi,” said FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Daron Borst, who oversaw the project.

Cars that are allowed past the visitors’ parking must get through two swinging gates and a metal wedge barrier that pops out of the road.

In fact, the security is so stringent that cellphones can’t get reception in the building, a frustration agents hope is resolved soon.

Other security features include a sally port to unload detainees (something lacking at the old building) and a disintegrator room that reduces top secret paperwork to a fine dust.

“Because shredding isn’t good enough for us,” Borst said.

Temporary holding cells — with security cameras, panic buttons and windows — were being designed right around the time when the local DEA was in the news for locking a drug suspect in a cell and then forgetting about him over a long weekend.

The FBI took notes and designed theirs for maximum visibility to avoid such a scenario.

The centerpiece of the 250,000-square-foot complex is a glass atrium-style lobby, topped off with a giant mosaic FBI seal that is lit at night.

The project was developed by Molasky Group of Las Vegas, which has constructed three other FBI offices across the country. The developer will lease the building for 20 years at a cost of $234 million to the federal government. At the end of the term, the FBI can leave or renew its lease, but there is no option to own the building.

It has been designed to LEED Gold standards, a rating system for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly buildings. Bamboo is a recurring theme in the design, including all the doors, decorative wall insets and landscaping.

New technology is also being installed, including 90-inch television monitors that double as dry-erase boards and computer screens.

Agents are especially looking forward to more elbow room.

The sprawling building (it takes two hours to walk every hallway on the six floors) includes a gym, many conference rooms, and an extra-large space that can be used as an emergency operations center in the event of a major incident.

The Molasky Group management team poses with bikes in front of the Molasky Corporate Center. From left are Anna Juarez, general manager; Janna Nelson, accountant; Nick Reh, administrative assistant; Patty Garcia, head of green housekeeping; Micah Weight, director of property services; and Ernie Sinaly, director of facilities.

The Molasky Group of Companies is proud to be featured in the LVRJ Article “Las Vegas Area Companies Go Green”.  The article spotlights Las Vegas businesses who leading the way in ‘going green’.

Here’s an excerpt from the article spotlighting the Molasky Group:

“Even while the Molasky Corporate Center in downtown Las Vegas was being built, paints free of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, were used on the walls, and the flooring was attached with nontoxic water-based glues, according to Richard Worthington, president and chief operating officer.

The building’s insulation is made of shredded blue jeans, 98 percent of the steel used in the project is recycled, and water from the heating and cooling system is reused for the landscaping.

The Molasky Group of Companies spent about $4.5 million more than what would normally be required in a typical construction project “to take a leadership position in our industry, in our community, and to demonstrate to others that you can raise the bar and the threshold for sustainable development in Southern Nevada,” Worthington said.

It seems to have worked. The center’s largest tenant is the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the 285,000-square-foot building, 100 N. City Parkway, is the first downtown office building to receive a LEED Gold Class-A certification.

Since opening the center in 2007, its first LEED building, five of Molasky Group’s most recent projects have also been constructed to meet LEED Gold certification.”

To read the full article, visit the Las Vegas Review-Journal website here.

Or, click the expand button below and turn to page 16 to view the article and stay on the MolaskyCo.com website.

Listen in as our President and CEO, Richard Worthington, talks with KNPR’s State of Nevada (public radio show) about Molasky Center’s new bike share program. Visit the KNPR State of Nevada website here.

Subscribe to our YouTube Page here.

The gorgeous and LEED™ Gold-certified Molasky Corporate Center in downtown Las Vegas just got healthier and even more fun! We are happy to announce our Bike Share program partnership (and first of its kind in downtown Vegas) with The Molasky Companies.

Image courtesy of Electra Bicycle Company

View the full article on MolaskyCenter.com’s Media Blog.

Quoted in the article:  “This is a way to connect businesses and the downtown community,” said Richard Worthington, president and CEO of the Molasky Group of Companies. “There’s plenty of parking downtown, but it takes a lot of time. Biking is so much more efficient, and it’s very social. It’s a great way for tenants to expand their horizons.”

Read more on the Molasky Center’s website.

Contact: Melissa Warren or Eryn Sebelius
melissa@ffwpr.com; 702-528-6016
eryn@ffwpr.com; 702-235-6684

MOLASKY CORPORATE CENTER LAUNCHES LAS VEGAS’
FIRST PRIVATE BIKE-SHARE PROGRAM

(LAS VEGAS, NV) — Getting around downtown Las Vegas just got healthier and more fun for the more than 1,000 tenants of the Molasky Corporate Center at 100 N. City Parkway and the adjacent IRS building at 110 N. City Parkway.  Ten Electra Bicycle Company Townie® bicycles are now available for use by tenants via a bike share program that launched today with the help of downtown leaders, including Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman; Bill Arent, director, city of Las Vegas, Economic and Urban Development Department; Tina Quigley, general manager, Regional Transportation Commission; Irwin Molasky, chairman, The Molasky Group of Companies and Rich Worthington, president and CEO of The Molasky Companies. Elayne Fowler, marketing director for Electra Bicycle Company, was also on hand.

According to Worthington, this is the first private industry bike share program in Las Vegas.  “We are thrilled to make this opportunity available to all those who work at the Molasky Corporate Center and the IRS building,” said Worthington.  “Tenants can easily check out bikes from our building property services desk and are provided with helmets and bike locks.  We encourage our tenants to use the bikes, at no charge, of course, whenever they have a nearby meeting downtown, visit a downtown coffee shop or restaurant or simply want to take a break from work for a few minutes. It’s a green, healthy and fun way to get around downtown.”

The first LEED™ certified Gold Class-A office building in downtown Las Vegas, the Molasky  Corporate Center is the busy office home to two major law firms, Southern Nevada Water Authority, United States Secret Service and other small companies.

“As one of the community’s green leaders and a long time champion of downtown revitalization, the Molasky Corporate Center’s roll-out of the city’s first private bike share program is natural for us,” Worthington said.  “We strive to provide our tenants with amenities that improve quality of work life and free access to such hip bikes as the Electra Townie is on target with our philosophy. We look forward to the success of the program and hope to see our tenants out and about downtown on two wheels. We also encourage other downtown businesses to follow suit with other bike share programs and encouragement of alternative forms of transportation for those working downtown.”

“During 2012 – The Year of Downtown – the opening of major landmark facilities and dozens of new restaurants and small businesses has brought increased vitality to the area,” said Mayor Goodman. “It’s the perfect time to launch a bike share program to allow those who work downtown the opportunity visit and explore all that’s new in the neighborhood. Plus, it enhances the growing sense of community amongst those who live and work downtown.”

According to Worthington, The Molasky Group of Companies is soon rolling out similar programs in other cities where the company has designed, developed and manages Field Offices for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). These LEED™ certified Gold facilities are in Portland, Oregon, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

According to Fowler, who oversees marketing for California-based Electra Bicycle Company, bike share programs are growing in popularity across the country and Electra is thrilled to partner with Molasky on Las Vegas’ first private program and at its other facilities nationwide. “We celebrate individuals around the globe who are taking action to make the world a better place through environmental conservation, social aid, education and artistic expression. Bike share programs are consistent with that thinking, and we applaud The Molasky Group of Companies for its proactivity in providing fun, healthy alternative forms of transportation for the thousands of people who work at its facilities.”

“The Molasky Companies is fully committed to green building and promoting sustainability in the communities where we build,” said Worthington. “We are enthused about the concept of bike share programs that promote community connectivity and personal health. We are particularly excited to partner with Electra Bike Company, a respected innovator within the growing bicycle manufacturing industry.”

About Molasky Corporate Center

Molasky Corporate Center is Las Vegas’ largest Class- A LEED-certified Gold office tower. The 17-story building is located in downtown Las Vegas and is headquarters to the Southern Nevada Water Authority; prominent law firms, including Brownstein Hyatt Farber Shreck LLP, Ballard Spahr, and Duane Morris LLP; the United States Secret Service; Foley Faiss Warren Public Relations; and The Molasky Group of Companies. The highly amenitized building includes Jason’s Deli, 24-Hour Fitness, Bank of Nevada, Legal Copy Cats and coming soon, Cafelatte. www.molaskycenter.com

About The Molasky Group of Companies

The Molasky Group of Companies has developed real estate in Las Vegas and across the country for more than 6O years. In Las Vegas, the company built many landmarks in our community including Sunrise Hospital, The Boulevard Mall and Molasky Corporate Center. The company has a national reputation to design, build and manage large-scale properties for government agencies and recently completed the National Personnel Records Center for the National Archives and Records Administration as well as FBI Field Offices in Portland, Minneapolis and Cincinnati. A fourth FBI Field Office is under construction in San Diego. www.molaskyco.com

About The Electra Bicycle Company

Electra Bicycle Company is the leader in lifestyle, leisure and recreational cycling sales in the Independent Bicycle Dealer Network. Electra Townie® bicycles have patented Flat Foot Technology® for improved comfort and control. For more information, visit www.electrabike.com, or follow Electra on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ElectraBicycleCompany and Twitter www.twitter.com/Electra_Bicycle