Young Pharmaceuticals, a family-owned dermatological products company, is growing its footprint in Wethersfield, with plans for a new headquarters that could eventually anchor a multi-building campus on the west side of town.
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Young Pharmaceuticals, a family-owned dermatological products company, is growing its footprint in Wethersfield, with plans for a new headquarters that could eventually anchor a multi-building campus on the west side of town.
The company recently secured conditional approval from the planning and zoning commission to build on a lot in a parcel of undeveloped land on Progress Drive, not far from Young Pharmaceuticals’ existing headquarters on the Berlin Turnpike. The company owns the entire 21-acre parcel along Progress Drive, which branches off of Wells Road and ends at the CREC Soundbridge school.
Young Pharmaceuticals, which has been in business for 44 years, develops products such as skin cleansers, moisturizers and over-the-counter treatments for dispensing dermatologists and plastic surgeons. It does not sell directly to consumers.
The company currently employs around 200 people, including about 50 sales people across the U.S. and in some international markets, and about 20 administrative staff currently working from home locally. The rest of the staff work at Young Pharmaceuticals’ existing headquarters.
According to founder and President John Kulesza, the Wethersfield expansion is a response to a global boom in demand for skin-care products, especially the sophisticated anti-aging and pigment management products his company specializes in. Young Pharmaceuticals’ business grew by over 30% over the last 18 months, Kulesza said.
Kulesza said increased time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused people to focus more on personal care. Higher resolution technology in cell phones and computers could also be motivating people to improve their skin’s appearance, he noted.
Not your typical office building
To ensure that future growth needs will be met, Kulesza said the company expects to eventually construct an additional three buildings on the 21-acre plot it owns on Progress Drive, creating a park-like campus.
The new headquarters will have two floors, each 10,000 square feet. Because the plot slopes gently downward, the north-facing side of the building will appear to be only one story, while both floors will be visible from the south.
An artistic rendering of the structure shows a brick building with wide, arched windows, topped by a white cupola.
The design was inspired by a lavish private home located in Woodside, California, about 30 miles from San Francisco, that Kulesza visited in the early 1970s when it belonged to the family of a school friend. The grandeur of the estate, which was subsequently donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, had a lasting effect on the young guest.
“I was so impressed by the architecture that I vowed one day to build something similar,” he said.
Young Pharmaceuticals’ take on the historic residence was designed by a team at Russell and Dawson Architects of East Hartford headed by John Wilcox. PDS Construction has been hired as general contractor, and Rosemary Aldridge of Canton will develop the property’s landscape plan.
As an added flourish, Kulesza said he plans to transport and set up an antique library to serve as his office in the new building. The set, which measures 21 feet by 20 feet by 14 feet, was acquired from the former Manhattan residence of Jeremiah Milbank, an eminent banker and financier, who himself imported the library from an 18th-century English manor house. Fallon & Wilkinson of Baltic is handling the restoration and installation of the library.
The president’s office will also feature a gas fireplace, one of two planned for the headquarters; the other will be located in the chief financial officer’s office.
“This project is going to be quite a bit different from a standard office building,” Kulesza noted.
In addition to serving as a headquarters, the facility will also accommodate research and development work.
Kulesza said the company plans to continue using its Berlin Turnpike building, either by extending its lease there or buying it outright.
“We are most firmly committed to staying in the town of Wethersfield,” he said. “It’s an outstanding community. We simply have to figure out which arrangement makes the most sense for us.”
Kulesza said construction work on the headquarters will begin immediately once architects iron out a few minor, technical issues raised by the planning and zoning commission and submit their plans to local building officials.
