Industry News

MidMichigan Medical Center is engaged in a $115 million expansion of its healthcare campus in Midland, Mich. Construction began on the project in 2008 with completion slated for 2012. Designed by HDR Architecture of Chicago with Skanska USA Building as construction manager, the project includes 262,000 sf of new construction and 57,000 sf of renovated space. The expansion features advanced air filtration for prevention of infection.

Grand Valley State University will begin construction in spring of 2011 on the $70 million Mary Idema Pew Library and Information Commons in Allendale, Mich. The five-story, 100,000-sf facility will provide seating for 1,500 students, shelf space for 150,000 books, and an automated storage and retrieval system for an additional 600,000 volumes. The building will also house 30 meeting and study rooms. Completion is expected in April of 2013.

Samsung Electronics is engaged in a $500 million renovation of its chip manufacturing complex in Austin, Texas. The project will join the existing Fab 1 and Fab 2 buildings to create a cleanroom facility for the production NAND flash memory chips. Completion of the first phase is expected by April of 2010.

IBM opened its new data center in February of 2010 in Research Triangle Park, N.C.  The 100,000-sf facility supports cloud computing and operates on half the energy required for a conventional data center. The facility features reduced technology infrastructure costs while delivering improved quality and speed of services. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

Singapore Emulsion Fuel opened the first clear nano-emulsion diesel plant in Asia in February of 2010. The 40,000-sf facility is located in the Tuas district in Singapore. The plant produces an emulsion diesel fuel that can be utilized without any retrofitting or modification of engines and releases fewer harmful gas emissions.