Industry News

The Veterans Affairs Medical Center is planning to break ground in late 2003 on the first two buildings of its planned $160-million City of Medicine campus in Durham. Totalling 96,000 sf of office and retail space, the two facilities will be developed by LCOR of Berwyn, Pa. The City of Medicine is a mixed-use project comprised of ten new medical research, office, retail, hotel, and apartment buildings. Thirty-five percent of the facilities will be leased to federal government-related tenants. Some VA hospital functions may be relocated to the new development.

Ford Motor Co. will begin construction in June 2003 on a new parts distribution facility in McDonough, Ga. The 231,000-sf facility will replace a 627,000-sf McDonough building; Ford is replacing approximately ten larger parts facilities nationwide with a network of 21 regional facilities serving smaller geographic areas. Construction firm ARCO Design/Build has been selected as general contractor for the distribution warehouse to be sited on 23 acres in the Greenwood Industrial Park. Occupancy is slated for March 2004.

Kaiser Permanente is opening a new 120,000-sf medical office building in Daly City, Calif. The facility, owned by King Asset Management of Palo Alto, will undergo a $31-million renovation prior to the relocation of 72 healthcare providers from Kaiser’s El Camino Real campus in San Francisco. The new facility is slated to open in November 2003 and will house women’s health services, pediatrics, internal medicine, optical services including ophthalmology, a laboratory, and a pharmacy.

The New Jersey State Aquarium is planning to break ground on a $33.6-million expansion in late summer of 2003. Designed by Columbus, Ohio-based Steiner + Associates, the $33.6-million project will expand the Camden aquarium by 72,000 sf; retail, entertainment, and restaurants will also be constructed. Including surrounding development, the total project cost could reach $44-million. Steiner + Associates will be responsible for the operation of the expanded aquarium, which will include a new shark tank and hippopotamus area.

Virtua Memorial Hospital Burlington County has completed the $770,000 renovation of its low-risk cardiac catheterization laboratory, including the installation of new imaging technology.