Industry News

KBI BioPharma, a division of Kinetic Biosystems of Atlanta, will upfit 300,000 sf in four buildings recently purchased in Teer Technical Park in Durham. Formerly occupied by Mitsubishi's semiconductor manufacturing operations, the facility currently houses three cleanrooms ranging in size from 6,906 sf to 25,240 sf. The first of the three planned renovation phases is expected to take nine months and cost $45 million. The lead architect is O'Brien/Atkins Associates of Durham.

BioMerieux, a French diagnostic instruments maker, is expanding its U.S. headquarters in Durham's Teer Technical Park with the lease of an additional 20,000 sf. The space will house research in probe instrument technology. 

Sigma Xi, the international scientific and engineering honor society and publisher of American Scientist magazine, is building a 52,840-sf headquarters facility in Research Triangle Park. The building will house a 200-seat auditorium, exhibit space, conference facilities, a catering kitchen, and office space for Sigma Xi's 44 employees.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute opened the Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center on Sept. 15, 2003. The center is one of six Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers designated by the National Science Foundation. The facility houses an atomic force microscope and equipment for studying nanotubes.

Richardson Regional Medical Center broke ground in early September 2003 on its $49-million Bush/Renner campus in Richardson, Texas. The first development phase of the 20.5-acre site will include a 100,000-sf, five-story medical office building opening in August 2004, and an outpatient surgery center and an urgent care center to open in fall of 2004. The master plan for the site details a physical rehabilitation center, a second physician office building, and a 500-bed acute care hospital. A comprehensive cancer center could also be constructed on the site.