Heffron partnered with AstraZeneca on a four-year, phased power reliability upgrade at the company’s occupied United States headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD — a mission-critical campus that could not afford an outage during construction.

Phase 1 installed a 2.5-megawatt Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant comprised of a natural gas generator and a heat recovery steam generator. The scope included a significant site-work package to construct a cast-in-place exterior concrete mechanical yard to house the equipment.

Phase 2 consolidated the eight-building campus — originally fed by four separate utility feeds — onto a single electrical switchgear lineup serving more than 1,000,000 square feet of occupied space. Two dedicated underground 13.8 kV feeders were installed from the campus back to the utility substation, and new paralleling gear was added to control the CHP alongside the two pre-existing 3-megawatt diesel emergency generators.

Phase 3 added a second 2.5-megawatt CHP, a 500-ton absorption chiller, and a supporting cooling tower — giving the site the ability to recover waste heat from the CHP and generate cooling from it. The completed system gives AstraZeneca the ability to carry the entire campus electrical load on 11 megawatts of on-site generation, dramatically reduce boiler use by producing high-pressure steam from the heat recovery steam generators, and pull heating hot water from the engine cooling loops. The result is a technically complex system that protects ongoing operation of a mission-critical campus while delivering a significant environmental impact reduction.

A full-building lease at 700 Progress Way — recognized as Maryland’s Best Lease of 2024 — anchors AstraZeneca’s expanding Gaithersburg manufacturing footprint. Heffron self-performed the mechanical scope that converted this 197,645-square-foot facility into production-ready space, installing the chilled water plant, high-purity process piping, and base-loaded pump skids that keep a cGMP biological operation running without interruption.

The work sits within a relationship that already spans the company’s MedImmune Way campus and 200 Orchard fit-out — one continuous standard of execution across every AstraZeneca address in Montgomery County. 

To support expanding capabilities at the MedImmune Way campus, Heffron self-performed the mechanical scope on AstraZeneca’s Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) Laboratory expansion — a project that more than doubled the size of the existing ADC space and reorganized the layout for maximum operational efficiency.

The defining challenge was keeping the existing lab running uninterrupted for all but a single two-week shutdown, during which the new exhaust systems were tied into the existing exhaust and live operations were relocated into the newly expanded space. Heffron then renovated the original lab in place.

Heffron’s mechanical scope included a fully welded stainless steel exhaust duct system, twelve flow hoods, a self-contained vacuum system, lab gases, casework integration, and airlocks — all delivered with the precise sequencing required to protect active research throughout construction.

AstraZeneca’s US headquarters campus cafeteria received a full renovation and expansion to 17,000 SF, allowing the site to serve nearly 6,000 employees and offer a broader range of healthier dining options. Adjacent conference rooms and hotel suites were demolished to enlarge the kitchen footprint and open up new seating capacity.

Heffron self-performed the mechanical scope behind the build-out — new HVAC distribution throughout the seating area, a stainless steel kitchen exhaust duct system with condensate drains routed through occupied areas of the building, and a new dedicated exhaust fan serving the dishwasher station.

Mechanical scope also supported a new 23′ × 11′ walk-in refrigerator with integrated blast chiller, a new dishwasher station, and the relocation of an existing freezer. The defining challenge was keeping the existing cafeteria open and serving employees throughout construction — coordination, phasing, and after-hours tie-ins protected daily food service from start to finish.

Part of Heffron’s ongoing mechanical work across the AstraZeneca campus, the 200 Orchard project covers full mechanical scope inside an active life-sciences environment — primary hot and chilled water distribution with full pipe insulation and jacketing, process piping, sanitary waste, vent, and fixture rough-in (including Geberit wall-hung carriers), ductwork, and rooftop York air-cooled chiller installation, tie-ins, startup, and commissioning. Every line is identified and labeled to the campus standard so facilities staff can trace and service the system on day one.

Heffron crews welded, fabricated, and installed pipe and equipment alongside in-house planning and coordination with AstraZeneca facilities staff. The work reflects the standard the client expects on this campus: precise execution in occupied space, with safety and quality treated as non-negotiable.

On 200 Orchard, Heffron worked as a true extension of the general contractor’s team — owning the mechanical scope end-to-end, hitting the schedule, and keeping the GC out of the weeds on coordination, submittals, and field issues. That’s the way we partner with every GC or client we work with: predictable execution, clean handoffs, and no surprises on the punch list.