Industry News

Valero Energy Corp. is expanding its San Antonio campus located on the 148-acre former Ultramar Diamond Shamrock campus. Designed by architectural firm Rehler Vaughn & Koone, the 450,000-sf project will include the addition of two new wings to Valero's existing 225,000-sf facility, which will also be upgraded. The cafeteria and 8,000-sf fitness center  will be expanded and improved, and 2,000 parking spaces will be added. Slated for completion in early fall of 2003, the addition will reach full occupancy in spring 2004.

Phoenixville Hospital, part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, is building a two-story $9.3-million open-heart surgery and advanced catheterization addition. Extending the hospital's operating suite by 2,405 sf, the project will create two additional 600-sf operating rooms. The project includes hospital renovations to accommodate a step-down recovery unit and cardiac intensive-care beds.

Samsung Austin Semiconductor, a subsidiary of South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., has announced a $50-million capital investment at its Austin direct random access memory (DRAM) chipmaking plant. The upgrade will convert chip production from 0.17 microns to 0.146 microns, as well as producing double data rate (DDR) DRAM chips. The Austin plant, where 950 are employed, was built in 1996 at a cost of $1.3 billion. Since then, an additional $100-million in upgrades have been carried out.

Clear Channel Worldwide is nearing completion of its 123,000-sf Corporate Service Center in Stone Oak, Texas. The three-story, $15-million project will house a data center, a network operations center, seven call centers, and administrative offices. Construction is slated for completion at the end of October 2002, with occupancy of the data center beginning as early as Sept. 15. Employees will occupy the rest of the facility in phases over the next few months. The center will employ 400 workers.

Veritas Software Corp. is developing Corporate Campus II, a $170-million project designed by architect Hellmuth Obata + Kassabaum. Located on a 990,990-sf site in Milpitas, Calif., the campus is being built by general contractor Rudolph & Sletten. Construction began in November 2000 and is slated for completion in May 2003.