Industry News

MCI Worldcom Inc. has broken ground on a new $8 million regional Internet network in Newark, Calif. The 216,672-sf, two-building project will be built in two phases by the developer, Buffalo Properties Inc. of Dallas, Texas.

Qwest Communications International Inc. has plans to develop 28 new CyberCenters over the next three years, including one in Austin and one in Dallas. IBM Global Services Inc. will build and supply operational support, as well as become the anchor tenant, at the centers it builds.

NBC Internet Inc. (NBCi) will renovate the 80-year-old Standard Oil building for its new headquarters in San Francisco's financial district. The SmithGroup's information-age design features natural sunlight, quickly-reconfigurable mobile furniture, European cooling system, recycled car-tire flooring, translucent, wired cubicle partitions, exposed piping and wiring, operable windows, and a game room. NBCi will move in by year-end to 240,000 sf in the building, occupying 11 floors of the structure.

Echelon Corp., developer of communication equipment, plans to relocate its 175 employees from Palo Alto, Calif., to San Jose in a three-story, 75,000-sf build-to-suit headquarters designed by the San Francisco office of Washington-based Ai and Barry Swenson Builder. Pending approval from the City of San Jose, Swenson will begin construction by June 2000, with occupancy scheduled for July 2001.

Nvidia Corp. will relocate its 350 employees to a new four-building headquarters campus in Santa Clara. The 500,000-sf project consists of four 125,000-sf buildings and a two-level, 550-space parking garage at an estimated cost of $180 million. The first two buildings are scheduled for occupancy by June 2001; the third by July 2001; and the fourth by March 2002. Each building will accommodate 500 people. The developer is Sobrato Development Cos. Nvidia makes 3-D graphic chips for PCs.