Industry News

Toyota announced that it will manufacture completed Tacoma trucks as well as truck beds at its $140-million Tijuana plant currently under construction. Slated to open in 2005, the facility will have the capacity to build 20,000 trucks and 170,000 truck beds annually, and will employ 460 workers. Located on 700 acres in eastern Tijuana, the facility will be the first automobile manufacturing plant in Baja California.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia recently celebrated the structural completion of its South Tower with a topping-off ceremony. The 10-story, 332,000-sf inpatient-care facility, part of a multi-year $650-million expansion plan, will enable the hospital to increase its bed capacity from 381 to 430. As part of the South Tower project, the pediatric intensive care unit, cardiac center and pediatric oncology center will also be expanded and renovated. The emergency department, which annually accommodates 67,000 visits, will be expanded as well.

American University will break ground in January 2003 on the $55-million, 130,000-sf Katzen Arts Center. Site preparation began in June for the center, which will house the university's art programs and will include a 30,000-sf gallery, a 200-seat recital hall, and a 500-space underground parking garage. General contractor for the project is Holder Construction. Additionally, American University began developing the Greenberg Theater in March.

Microsoft has dedicated its first facility in Northern Virginia, the $25-million Innovation & Technology Center. Located at Reston Town Center, the four-story, 63,000-sf facility can accommodate 1000 employees and includes 25 conference rooms, a technology lab, a government solutions center, and offices for over 100 Microsoft workers. The center will eventually house an executive briefing center and secured facilities for classified meetings with intelligence agencies.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. is planning an $8-million emergency department replacement project at the South Fulton Medical Center. The renovation is part of Tenet's $30-million capital improvement plan for the hospital, which includes a $2-million renovation of the HVAC systems, new cardiovascular facilities, and a renovated women's services department.