Industry News

Boston University is engaged in a $112 million renovation and expansion of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine. Designed by SmithGroup, the project includes renovation of 53,100 sf of existing space and construction of a seven-story, 41,900-sf addition to provide a 140-seat auditorium, student collaboration areas, classrooms, teaching labs, offices, and clinical space. A new façade will bring natural light into the flexible facility, which will include a café and lounges for students and residents.

Mercedes Scientific, a national distributor of laboratory products, opened its new $10 million headquarters in March of 2019 in Bradenton, Fla. Located in the 305-acre Collaboration Opportunities for Research and Exploration (CORE) development, the two-story, 55,000-sf building provides executive offices, a distribution center, a 5,000-sf machine shop, and air-conditioned warehouse space. Designed by Flad Architects and Stantec, the structure features exposed mechanical systems, steel framing, and concrete walls.

Old Dominion University began construction in February of 2019 on a $75.6 million chemistry building in Norfolk, Va. Supporting STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the four-story, 110,000-sf facility will feature 1,800-sf laboratories as a strategic recruitment tool to attract new researchers. Designed with abundant external glazing to put science on display, the building will offer classrooms, teaching and research labs, active learning environments, tutoring rooms, faculty offices, and a high-field robotic NMR suite.

IBM is partnering with SUNY Polytechnic Institute to create the AI Hardware Center in Marcy, N.Y. The project is one component of IBM's $30 million investment in the State University of New York system to support artificial intelligence-focused computer chip research, development, prototyping, testing, and simulation. SUNY will provide up to $25 million in matching funds for a combined total of $55 million.

Cal Poly will break ground in May of 2019 on the $125 million William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The four-story, 100,000-sf facility represents a collaboration between the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Science and Mathematics.