Industry News

Charles River Laboratories opened a 58,000-sf animal research facility in April of 2014 in Spencerville, Ohio. The building provides vivarium space and labs for preclinical research on pharmaceutical compounds, medical devices, and chemicals. Construction on the facility began in 2007 and was halted in 2009, with recommencement of building work in October of 2013.

The National Institutes of Health dedicated the John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center in late March of 2014 in Bethesda, Md. Comprised of two buildings connected by a glass atrium, the collaborative 500,000-sf facility provides open laboratories, offices, and an advanced MRI suite for researchers from 10 NIH neuroscience institutes and centers. Construction on the first building began in 2001 and was completed in 2004.

East Tennessee Children’s Hospital is planning a 317,000-sf expansion and renovation of its Knoxville campus. The 245,000-sf, 182-bed expansion will include a 48-bed, all-private NICU with a resource center, a family suite, and roof gardens. Following completion of the addition, 71,900 sf of the existing hospital will be renovated and repurposed. The project is being designed by Shepley Bulfinch in association with BarberMcMurry. Conceptual design was completed in April of 2014 and completion is expected in 2016.

Frostburg State University is building the $66 million Center for Communication and Information Technology in Frostburg, Md. Designed by Ayers Saint Gross of Washington, D.C., the three-story, 127,000-sf facility will provide instructional space for mathematics and computer science as well as housing the mass communications department. The building will also include a 5,500-sf conference room, audio and video studios, and a multimedia learning center with a planetarium, a telescope, and a 3D theater.

Morgan State University is building the $80 million Earl G. Graves Sr. School of Business and Management in Baltimore. The 140,000-sf facility will provide classrooms, a lecture hall, a trading floor, a teaching kitchen, and 10 simulation hotel rooms. The project will support programs in business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, hospitality management, and information science. Ground was broken on the facility in 2012 and completion is expected in summer of 2015.