Comparing Costs Among Five Coastal Research Facilities

POST-GRAD LAB

Smithsonian Institution Marine Station, Fort Pierce, Fl.
Cost (in ’05 dollars): $1.586 million; 9,300 gsf; $170.54 per gsf
Breakdown: MEP 37.3%, Architectural 44.7%, Structural 18%
Special features: Rigid-frame/slab-on-grade; coastal wind zone, operable shutters at vents and windows, HVAC on enclosed mezzanine floor, 100% outside, single-pass air.

UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING LABS

Eckerd College, Galbraith Marine Science Laboratory, St. Petersburg, Fl.
Cost (in ’05 dollars): $3.48 million; 15,520 gsf; $224.23 per gsf
Breakdown: MEP 31.5%, Architectural 42.7%, Structural 25.8%
Special features: Raised one-story on piling; tank farm in flood surge, in highest wind zone, more seawater stations, more classrooms.

New College of Florida (formerly University of South Florida) Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center, Sarasota, Fl.
Cost (in ’05 dollars: $2.44 million; 9,410 gsf; $259.57 per gsf
Breakdown: MEP 22.7%, Architectural 50%, Structural 27.3%
Special features: Raised one-story on piling; tank farm in flood surge, re-sited to high wind zone from highest, more seawater stations, more classrooms, smaller labs.

TEACHING/RESEARCH LABS

University of North Carolina Wilmington Center for Marine Science at Myrtle Grove, N.C.
Cost (in ’05 dollars): $25.89 million; 106,000 gsf; $244.25 per gsf
MEP 48.2%, Architectural 37.3%, Structural 14.5%
Special features: Two-story spread footings; steel frame, flat roof (modified bitumen with cap sheet), extensive lab support space, multiple fume hoods in each lab, masonry and cement plaster, coastal wind zone.

Florida International University Marine Biology Laboratory, Key Biscayne, North Miami, Fl.
Cost (in ’05 dollars): $10.18 million; 57,328 gsf; $177.57 per gsf
Breakdown: MEP 32.6%, Architectural 50.39%, Structural 18%
Special features: Three-story spread footings; concrete frame, flat roof (modified bitumen with cap sheet), minimal lab support, shared fume hood alcoves, tilt-up load-bearing three-story concrete skin, coastal wind zone.
–NZS