Industry News

California State University at San Marcos has selected architectural firm Robbins Jorgensen Christopher of San Diego as master plan architects for its 304-acre campus, including $140-million in capital projects currently in design or construction. The $7.4-million, 35,000-sf Clarke Field House, now under construction, will house student meeting space, athletic facilities, and a small convenience store.  

USA Today, a subsidiary of McLean, Va.-based Gannett, is planning to build an emergency publishing center outside of Washington, D.C. In addition to its alternate Silver Spring data center and publishing site, the project will enable publishing in the event of an area-wide disaster. Current options include the construction or lease of a publishing center removed from the District by more than 100 miles, or the creation of both East and West coast emergency publishing centers. Each center will be staffed by 20-25 employees.

Google, looking to consolidate its work force in a single site, has signed a letter of intent to occupy 190,000-sf in Mountain View, Ca. The 4-year-old company could expand occupancy at the location to 300,000-sf in the future. According to industry sources, Google will lease facilities at the 510,748-sf, four-building Legacy Shoreline Center. The complex is not far from Google's existing Mountain View headquarters.

Comanche County Memorial Hospital and Watkins Hamilton Ross have just begun construction on a four-story Outpatient Center addition to the existing hospital. The project is expected to complete construction in fall 2003. The 124,675-sf building will include an outpatient surgery unit and surgery recovery area with direct access to the hospital's surgery suites. Diagnostic imaging, women's imaging, pre-admit testing, a public education center, and a dedicated sports medicine clinic and orthopedic physicians offices complete the program.

The University of Denver has completed the design of its new College of Law building. Designed by Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott of Boston, in association with H&L Architects of Denver, the 190,000-sf facility is the nation's first certified "green" law school. The $50-million building features 40% lower energy usage than comparable new buildings and includes ultra-low-emitting wood products, paints and carpeting, a groundwater recapture-recycle system for landscaping, and bicycle and electric car refueling capabilities.