Industry News

South Korea-based Samlip Industrial Co. is planning a new 130,000-sf facility in Alexander City, Ala., for the manufacture of automotive lighting parts and systems. The $53-million facility will be sited on 50 acres in the Alexander City Airport Industrial Park and will employ 400 workers. The automotive supplier will begin construction on the facility in August 2003 with occupancy slated for September 2004.

Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) is constructing a new $35,000-sf facility at its Oregon National Primate Research Institute in Beaverton. Slated for completion in June 2004, the $11-million research facility will house 900 rhesus monkeys, adding 450 new animals to the site.

Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente has been recognized for notable accomplishments by H2E (Hospitals for a Healthy Environment), a partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Hospital Association, the American Nurses Association, and Health Care Without Harm. The Healthy Building Network has also awarded Kaiser for accelerating the shift to healthier building materials with its purchasing actions and policies.

The San Mateo County Forensics Laboratory and Coroner's Office in San Mateo, California, is included on the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment 2003 list of "Top 10 Green Projects" which recognizes architectural design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. Designed by the San Francisco office of Hellmut, Obata + Kassabaum, the $12-million, 29,000-sf facility is a "living lab" for sustainability.

The University of California San Diego has selected general contractor Taylor Frager to build the Elliott Field Structures Lab. The $2-million earthquake simulation facility was designed by Hodges & Hodges Architecture.