Industry News

General Services Administration (GSA) is planning a new $35 million, 215,000-sf facility in Washington for the Office of Student Financial Assistance, a Department of Education division. Groundbreaking is scheduled for May 2000, with occupancy anticipated by October 2001. Greenbaum & Rose of Washington is the developer for the project. The general contractor is  Centex Construction of Fairfax, Va.

Discovery Communications has plans to house 2,000 employees at a $150 million, 500,000-sf global headquarters to be built on four acres in Silver Spring. Gensler is the strategic planning/interior design architect for the project. The Smith Cos. will design the base building. The general contractor is Clark Construction.

Nortel Networks Corp. plans to build twin 180,000-sf structures at its Windward campus in Alpharetta to accommodate its fiber-optic equipment business. Barry Real Estate Cos. of Atlanta will develop the facilities that will eventually accommodate approximately 1,500 employees. Construction on the first building began in April, with completion anticipated in twelve months.

KLA-Tencor Corp., based in San Jose, Calif., will expand with a six-building, 720,000-sf campus at the Cayetano Business Park in North Livermore. The campus will house offices, an engineering division, and an advanced manufacturing complex with clean-rooms. The first building is scheduled for completion in June 2001. The 120,000-sf structure will accommodate approximately 400 employees. KLA, a semiconductor tool manufacturer, will retain its headquarters in San Jose.

Cisco Systems, based in San Jose, Calif., has plans to manufacture fiber-optic gear in Salem, N.H. Cisco will convert 674,000 sf of manufacturing and office space to a facility for testing, assembling, and distributing equipment for use in high-speed telecommunications networks.