Industry News

Scripps Research Institute is constructing three buildings totaling 350,000-sf on 40 acres adjoining Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter. Slated for completion by year-end 2008, the facilities will house biomedical research laboratories, technology space, and offices. A grand opening is set for Feb. 26, 2009. The buildings under construction at Scripps Florida include the Molecular and Biomedical Research building, the Advanced Technologies and Administration building, and the Drug Discovery building.

Response Biomedical Corporation will relocate to its new global headquarters in Vancouver, B.C. on March 31, 2008. The 46,000-sf specialized use facility was specifically designed and constructed for development, GMP manufacturing, and distribution of point-of-care (POC) medical diagnostic test kits. The new facility should allow manufacturing scale-up from approximately 500,000 tests currently manufactured per year to four million tests per year by mid-2008, based on the demands of industry partners including 3M and Shinogi & Co. of Japan.

Yale School of Medicine completed the fit-out of a 70,000-sf translational research facility at its New Haven, Conn., campus in March of 2008. The project contractor was Tucker Mechanical, a subsidiary of EMCOR Group. Tucker Mechanical provided all HVAC and plumbing for the 70,000 square-foot building which was originally designed as an office. Comprised of five floors and a penthouse, the building was constructed to attain LEED certification.

South Cameron Memorial Hospital celebrated the reopening of its 29,000-sf acute care facility on March 18, 2008. The multi-million dollar project consists of 38 permanent modular components for maximum flexibility. The facility includes 12,000-sf of emergency care, 25 inpatient beds, and space for medical services. The project team included Williams Scotsman and Don M. Barron Contractor Inc. Groundbreaking for the facility, which was destroyed by Hurricane Rita, took place in December of 2006.

Spartanburg Regional Medical is constructing a $26 million surgical suite at its hospital in Spartanburg, S.C. Featuring stainless steel walls for maximum sterility and flexibility, the project is slated for completion in August of 2008. 32,000-sf of the 45,000-sf suite will be constructed with stainless steel walls, enabling reconfiguration of the space as they can be moved within a few days with the nearby rooms remaining usable. The durability of steel eliminates cracks which are a sterility challenge. The suite will feature acrylic floors.