Industry News

Site work will begin in April of 2011 on the $808 million UK Centre for Medical Research & Innovation (UKCMRI) in London. The 10-story, 850,000-sf facility was designed by HOK in collaboration with PLP Architecture. The general contractor is Laing O’Rourke. The building will house 1,250 researchers and 1,500 staff. Completion is expected in mid-2013 with occupancy expected in 2015. UKCMRI represents a partnership of Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, The Wellcome Trust, and University College London.

Florida Technical College began construction in March of 2011 on a 40,000-sf instructional facility in Orlando. The building is located on seven acres in the Central Florida Research Park. Lincoln Property Company is the developer, construction manager, and property manager for the project. The design architect is Leonard Feinburg and the general contractor is First Builders. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2011.

UC San Diego will open the $227 million Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center in April of 2011. The four-story, 128,000-sf facility is located adjacent to Thornton Hospital in San Diego. The multidisciplinary center will provide comprehensive cardiovascular care with an expanded emergency department, four operating rooms, six catheterization labs, 22 outpatient beds, and 54 inpatient beds. The facility will also support medical training for UC San Diego Medical Center.

Eastern Michigan University's new $90 million, energy-efficient addition to and renovation of the Mark Jefferson Science Building is a green design and construction project pursuing LEED silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent's Ann Arbor, Mich., office, the building features a planetarium/classroom, a green roof, a rain garden, and employs stormwater management and daylighting. Phase 1 of the project, an 80,000-sf addition, was completed in December of 2010.

Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) began construction in February of 2011 on a $218 million vitrification facility in Tokyo. Vitrification creates a solidified glass material from radioactive liquid waste generated by reprocessing of spent fuel from nuclear power stations. The facility is slated for completion in March of 2013. The project will provide research space and test furnaces for the development of vitrification processes and technologies.