Industry News

The Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) has plans to downsize its headquarters, leaving its current 400,000-sf building for a 200,000-sf  facility to be built next door. Boggs & Partners, working with the Wiehe Design Group, will design the headquarters. Interior architecture will be performed by Blue Chair Design. The civil engineer is Urban Engineering and Associates. The scheduled groundbreaking is in October 2002; completion is anticipated late in 2003 or early 2004.

 Easter Seals is planning to begin construction in 2002 on a four-story regional headquarters in Silver Spring. The Harry and Jeanett Weinberg Inter-Generational Care Center will be housed at the facility. It will provide an adult day care center, and also accommodate 102 children and 60 adults. Architect for the project is Weihe Design Group of Washington; the developer is Atlantic Realty.

Emory University has two buildings under construction that incorporate an innovative water recycling program. The system is designed to capture air-conditioning condensate for reuse by the cooling tower that provides air conditioning for a 325,000-sf medical research facility and a 268,000-sf cancer research institute. The $30,000 system will generate more than 2 million gallons a year of the 10- to 12 million gallons required by the tower. The system is expected to save water usage and sewer fees in the next three years that will cover its initial costs.

The University of Georgia is building an academic achievement center for athletes. The $7.2-million project will accommodate academic counselor offices, study rooms, tutoring rooms, computer labs. Beers Construction Co. is handling the project.

 Wyeth-Ayerst has commissioned Ewing Cole Cherry Brott of Philadelphia in collaboration with Fluor Daniel to provide architecture and engineering services for a new vaccine development center. The building will consolidate the company's vaccine development centers currently located throughout the United States, reducing product development and manufacturing cycle time. It will include development process labs, analytical labs, various levels of biocontainment space, a research library, conference center, offices, and an employee cafeteria.