Donegal Insurance Corporate HQ Construction Continues

Building ordinances in many towns and communities often call for construction that “doesn’t stand out and is compatible with the general area.” The same could be said about the corporate campus of Donegal Mutual Insurance, where Benchmark is hard at work at what’s known as East Wing II, where every phase of their corporate headquarters is built to appear stunning in its own right, while right in line with the rest of the complex.

“The work we’ve done and are doing at Donegal is remarkable for the owner’s pursuit of high quality and fanatically consistent appearance,” says Rich Gill, VP of Commercial & Specialty Construction. “Excellence is part of every project, but it’s equally essential that no building is distinctive from the others.”

The latest addition – which will add up to more than 130,000 square feet completed by Benchmark – will include new office space and a cutting-edge call center. Visitors are likely to be most impressed by the four-story central atrium and sunken patio and garden. In addition, a new magnetic bearing chiller and cooling tower will reduce energy consumption on campus, while 115 new parking spaces will support an ever-growing workforce. To the casual observer, though, the new addition will blend seamlessly in with the old, including a boiler house, just completed by Benchmark in 2015.

“As we’ve done with previous phases of construction, extra care will be made to ensure the continuity of the campus,” says Gill. In addition to the mortar and bricks being matched, Gill will travel himself to the shingle factory to ensure the new roof is a spot-on match compared to the other Donegal Mutual Insurance buildings.

A fall 2017 completion is expected for the addition, for which Benchmark is performing both preconstruction and construction services.