Industry News

Nektar Therapeutics opened its new 102,000-sf headquarters in San Francisco's Mission Bay development in December of 2010. The facility will house 150 employees and is sited adjacent to the UCSF Life Sciences and Medical Center. Previously based in San Carlos, Calif., Nektar utilizes an advanced polymer conjugate chemistry technology platform to create novel therapeutics.

Umpqua Community College is building the Danny Lang Teaching, Learning and Event Center in Roseburg, Ore. The $6.8 million facility will house the Southern Oregon Wine Institute and the college's viticulture and enology programs. The Lang Center will provide two labs, a classroom, a tasting room, an event center, a grape-crushing pad, a kitchen, a fermentation room, and three wine cellars. Construction began on the facility in September of 2010 with completion expected in September of 2011. The project is supported by $4.25 million in federal stimulus funding.

Oak Hill Hospital is initiating a 100,000-sf expansion of its Brooksfield health center. The $50 million project will create an inpatient tower with 36 private patient rooms, eight new surgical suites, renovated endoscopy facilities, and a parking lot. The hospital's central sterile department and the post anesthesia care unit will also be expanded and renovated.

Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine broke ground on the first phase of a $74 million Small Animal Teaching Hospital complex in December of 2010. A 34,000-sf education wing is slated for completion in spring of 2012. The second phase of construction will deliver a 200,000-sf Small Animal Teaching Hospital in 2014. The project was designed by Foil Wyatt Architects and Jova/Daniels/Busby.

Baystate Medical Center is engaged in a $251 million expansion of its hospital in Springfield, Mass. The first 300,000-sf phase of the 640,000-sf project will create a five-story tower with private patient rooms. The facility features slightly curved patient hallways with daylighting for a natural healing environment. The expansion houses advanced endovascular suites, six procedure rooms, and 48 inpatient beds.  Ground was broken on the project in summer of 2008. The first phase of construction is expected to reach completion in 2012.