Industry News

The Southeast Texas BioTechnology Park, a $633 million project announced in February, is seeking funds to continue. The 15-building complex, to be built over 20 years, is backed by a coalition including institutions at the Texas Medical Center, biotechnology companies, professional groups, and governmental entities.

 The United States Institute of Peace will convert a parking lot near the Vietnam and Korean war memorials into a 75,000- to 100,000-sf facility to promote the use of peaceful means in the prevention, management, and resolution of international conflicts. The $31- to $35 million structure will house approximately 60 employees. It will accommodate both conference and research space as well as an exhibit area, and will provide 340 underground parking spaces, to be shared with the nearby Navy medical facility.

TriQuint Semiconductor Inc., based in Hillsboro, Ore., has plans to add a three-story office and manufacturing building at its 36-acre campus in Richardson. The 124,000-sf facility will accommodate up to 1,000 employees. TriQuent purchased a 420,000-sf building at the site last year. With new building, the campus  will provide a total of 544,000 sf.

Rainin Instrument Co., based in Emeryville, Calif., is building a $15 million, 185,000-sf office and manufacturing facility on 7.8 acres in Oakland’s Hegenberger corridor, where biotech companies and their suppliers are beginning to congregate. The new facility is slated to open in October 2001, and will accommodate an addition of 60 employees to its existing 250-member staff. Rainin manufactures pipettes used by biology, biotechnology, and chemical companies. Architect for the project is Jordan Woodman Dobson.

Celera Diagnostics, a $300 million joint venture of Celera Genomics and Applied Biosystems, will open an industrial-scale facility to perform high-volume genotyping and gene expression research. Applied Biosystems, a manufacturer of gene sequencing hardware, is currently expanding at a building in the Hacienda Business Park in Pleasanton, Calif., where renovations will be completed around the end of fiscal 2002. Celera Genomics and Applied Biosystems are both owned by Applera.