Industry News

Shionogi & Co. will begin construction on a new ¥14 billion pharmaceutical research facility on its existing campus in Toyonaka City, Osaka, in fall of 2008. Serving as the center of research operations, the 43,000-sm facility will house world class laboratories and testing equipment in a six-story earthquake resistant facility. Construction is expected to reach completion in spring of 2010 with operations commencing in summer of 2010.

The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) will break ground in fall of 2008 on the 74,832-gsf Institute for Regeneration Medicine on its Parnassus campus. Designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, the $128-million facility is supported by a $34.8 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Housing multidisciplinary stem cell research, the 46,283-asf project will be comprised of four split-level floors housing wet labs, support and offices.

Bayer will initiate construction by year-end 2008 on a toluene diisocyanate (TDI) manufacturing plant in Shanghai, China. The facility will begin operations in 2010 with a manufacturing capacity of 700,000 tons per year. TDI is a raw material for the production of polyurethane foam. Bayer, headquartered in Frankfurt, will invest US$3.1 billion in its Shanghai campus by 2012.

Reid Hospital opened its new $318 million inpatient tower in Richmond, Ind., in August of 2008. The 233-bed facility includes an inpatient hospital, an outpatient care center, and a medical office building. The state-of-the-art replacement hospital features healing gardens and is the result of a ten-year planning and construction process.

The State of California is implementing an $8 billion hospital construction program at state prisons. The joint venture program management team is comprised of URS Corp. and Bovis Lend Lease. Featuring integrated project delivery principles and lean construction methodology, the project includes construction of seven California prison hospitals by 2014.