Industry News

Texas-based Dell Inc. has awarded the site grading contract for its new 500,000-sf computer manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem, N.C., to Blythe Development.  Construction is expected to begin by the end of January 2005.

Genentech has signed a lease for 780,000 sf in South San Francisco, which may be the largest single lease ever penned in the northern California Bay Area. Developer Slough Estates will construct the three-, four-, and eight-story life science facilities in two phases over the next four years. Construction cost is estimated at approximately $325 million. The project will consist of roughly 40 percent office and 60 percent laboratory space.

Boston University Medical Center has received final approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority for its 410,000-sf BioSquare Phase II project in Boston. Funded by a $128 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the project will include a BSL-4 research laboratory and a 1,400-space parking garage. The facility will be part of a national network of laboratories dedicated to countering bioterror agents by developing drugs, treatments, and vaccines.

Schering-Plough Corporation has awarded Skanska USA Building the construction management services contract to renovate six office buildings and a cafeteria in Summit, New Jersey. Including the renovation of the campus' teledata infrastructure, the anticipated value of the project is expected to be more that $12 million. Completion is expected in December 2005.

The University of Notre Dame has selected The S/L/A/M Collaborative of Glastonbury, Conn., to design the 27,500-sf Nanotechnology Research Building on its Notre Dame, Ind., campus. Slated for completion in April 2006, the 2-story building will include a variety of lab spaces, offices, a conference room, and storage and support space. BVH Integrated Services of Bloomfield, Conn., will provide civil, mechanical, and electrical services.