Industry News

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is constructing the Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies on its Cambridge campus. The facility is funded by a $50-million grant from the U.S. Army.

The Pepsi Bottling Group is planning to build a 58,000-sf distribution center in the Canton Commerce Center in Canton, Mass. Pepsi plans to relocate its operations to the new facility in fall 2003 from its Allston location, where it has leased space from Harvard University for 47 years.

Montgomery Hospital Medical Center is planning a 3,000-sf expansion of its emergency department and the renovation of 4,000 sf of existing space. The project, funded by a $1-million grant from the Abramson Family Foundation, will create a technologically advanced, state-of-the-art emergency department. The hospital plans to invest more than $2-million in the improvements. Construction will begin in early 2003 on a new waiting area, a new emergency room entrance, and additional treatment rooms.

Loudoun Hospital Center opened its new Birthing Inn in January 2003. The 30,000-sf facility, located at the rear of the hospital, took nine months to construct. The birth center houses nine labor/delivery/recovery rooms, 24 postpartum suites, two operating rooms, two recovery rooms, and four triage posts.

Federal IT and security contractor NCI Information Systems has relocated its corporate headquarters from Tysons Corner to Reston, Va. The company leased 76,716 sf of office space at Plaza America, a 1.2 million-sf development that is nearly 50% leased by government-related tenants. NCI relocated to accommodate growth and increase customer and employee convenience.