Industry News

Bank of America Corp. broke ground in August 2004 on One Bryant Park in Manhattan, a 52-story skyscraper designed to meet the platinum LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designation. Designed by Cook & Fox Architects of New York, the facility features a gray-water capture and reuse system for rainwater and wastewater; an onsite 5.1-megawatt co-generation power plant that provides seventy percent of the building's daily power suppy; and recyclable and renewable building materials.

Cincinnati Financial Corp . is planning a $98-million expansion of its Fairfield, Ohio, headquarters. The first phase of construction will commence in January 2005 with the construction of a 700-car underground parking garage. The second phase, comprised of a 487,000-sf, seven-story office tower to be built on top of the garage, will begin in September 2006 with completion expected in September 2008. Cincinnati Financial Corp. currently accommodates 2,800 employees at the 800,000-sf Fairfield site.

FedEx Freight broke ground in late August 2004 on its new $5 million operations hub in Greensboro, N.C. The 65,000-sf facility is sited on 30 acres and will feature 106 dock doors for loading and unloading cargo, with the potential to expand the building by another 40 doors in the future; 56,000 sf of storage pods will also be constructed. Completion is expected in eight to nine months.

Centene Corp., a provider of managed care programs services, is planning to open a 50,000-sf processing facility on 25 acres in Great Falls , Mont. The first stage of the project describes the completion of an 8,000-sf temporary facility in November 2004 with the permanent structure scheduled to open in July 2005. The initial cost of the project is estimated at $7 million.

Law firm Preston Gates & Ellis has completed its 220,000-sf headquarters in Seattle , Wash. Designed by STUDIOS Architecture, the facility features specific design elements to increase productivity: