Outside the Region: Dresdner Robin provides laser-scanning tech. for Whole Foods project

Jersey City, NJ Dresdner Robin has provided expert services on the future home of the city’s first Whole Foods Market. The firm coordinated local and state approvals, including site plan approval from the city Planning Board. To facilitate the retrofit of a parking garage that will house the grocer, Dresdner Robin mapped the facility by using laser-scanning technology. Whole Foods Market will be constructed within two levels of the parking garage, which is a part of downtown’s Harborside 4A, owned by Mack-Cali Realty Corp. 

Dresdner Robin assisted project architects at HLW International by carrying out a precise measurement of the site and the interior of the garage.

“This development at Harborside introduces necessary retail space into Jersey City’s rapidly growing downtown, at a key transport hub,” said Fred Worstell, president of Dresdner Robin, which has been based in the city since 1985.

Harborside 4A is a 10-story complex with three levels of class A office space. The parking garage currently spans seven stories. Whole Foods will occupy 47,000 s/f within the building.

“We are very excited that Whole Foods Market selected Harborside for its future Jersey City store,” said Mack-Cali senior VP of communications, Deidre Crockett. “Jersey City has been anticipating the arrival of Whole Foods Market, and our ability to creatively retrofit Harborside 4A will make that a reality. Dresdner Robin’s survey informs the overall reconfiguration of the building, and their work securing approvals has allowed development to proceed.”

Whole Foods Market has also selected Harborside 3 for its Northeast headquarters. Its two area leases total 94,940 s/f.

“HLW called upon us to secure approvals and measure this garage as accurately, thoroughly and quickly as possible,” said Matthew Neuls, senior project manager at Dresdner Robin. “Our scanning technology provided precise CAD models, offering designers reliable site data from which to work.”

The survey, completed using a tripod-mounted 3D laser scanner, identified existing features such as concrete structures, conduits and other infrastructure. The scanner’s infrared beam collects line-of-sight items, creating a cloud of points linked together across dozens of scans. The firm’s field crew surveyed both inside and outside of the building. The sophisticated technology allowed operations to continue during the scan, avoiding time-consuming vehicle removal.

“Dresdner Robin deploys the latest technology for its survey services – including UAVs and laser scanners – and we apply these tools to complex environments, yielding truly creative solutions,” said Greg Gloor, director of survey and 3D measurement at Dresdner Robin.

Earlier this year, Dresdner Robin surveyors used drone technology to capture images of at-risk riparian areas of northern New Jersey, including flood-prone waterways in Pompton Lakes, N.J.

The firm has completed other high-profile projects in the state’s most populous city, including the three-tower Journal Squared development, the 900-ft. skyscraper at 99 Hudson and the 16-story mixed-use residential property at 533 Mercer St., among others.