Essilor Celebrates Groundbreaking Of New Corporate Campus

ESSILOR CELEBRATES GROUNDBREAKING OF
NEW CORPORATE CAMPUS IN FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS
Campus will bring new jobs to area;
completion of first phase anticipated June 2007

Dallas – (April 3, 2006) – Surrounded by state and local officials, Laurent Vacherot, president of Essilor of America, today broke ground on Essilor’s new U.S. corporate campus in Farmers Branch, Texas. Over the next five years, the new campus will allow for more than 380 new jobs at Essilor and the company is expected to become one of the largest employers in Farmers Branch.

“Breaking ground on our new campus marks a significant step in our growth and development as an organization,” said Laurent Vacherot, president of Essilor of America. “The campus will bring new jobs and hopefully play a critical role in encouraging additional investments in this area. It also reaffirms our long-term commitment and growing partnership with Farmers Branch and the state of Texas”

Essilor’s new campus will consist of redeveloping existing space and constructing new facilities. The first phase of development will consist of 270,000 square feet of new and existing buildings and includes:

• A new technology center created from the renovation of two existing buildings. In addition to office space, the technology center will feature a laboratory and warehouse, and a connector will be built to join the buildings. New, existing and relocated employees will occupy the center by June 2006.

• A new corporate headquarters building constructed by June 2007. The three-story facility with a glass atrium will include office space, training rooms, conference rooms and a cafeteria.

• A plaza with a newly landscaped garden and creek-lined area.

The second phase of development will follow in coming years with the construction of a facility adjacent to the new headquarters.

In August of 2005, Essilor bought six buildings adjacent to its current headquarters in Farmers Branch to acquire approximately 12 acres of land along I-35 for the campus. Cushman & Wakefield of Texas, Inc. assisted with the real estate efforts to acquire the new properties. The city of Farmers Branch, Dallas County and the state of Texas also worked with Essilor to help with the funding and development of the campus. In addition, CF Jordan, general contractors, and Aguirre Corporation, architects, continue to play critical roles in the planning and construction of the buildings.

“We thank our partners for their hard work and cooperation to make this day possible,” said Mike De La Vega, director of real estate at Essilor. “We look forward to the next stages of development with the campus.”

In 1996, Essilor moved its headquarters to Farmers Branch from St. Petersburg after acquiring Omega Laboratory Group. Over the past 10 years, Essilor’s Farmers Branch office has grown from 300 to more than 660 employees.

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