Biocontainment

Virginia Tech began construction in September 2005 on a 72,000-sf life sciences research building on its Blacksburg, Va., campus. The three-story building will house animal care facilities and life science laboratories including microbiology labs, BSL-3 facilities, and a basement floor small animal vivarium. Meeting NIH and CDC research standards, the building will accommodate over 200 faculty, students, and staff. The total project cost is approximately $35 million. Completion is slated for summer of 2007.

The University of Texas at San Antonio opened the 10.6-million Margaret Batts Tobin Laboratory Building in November of 2005. Designed by FKP Architects, the 22,000-sf BSL-3 facility will support infectious disease research with six biology research labs, a computer media center, and a conference room. The contractor for the project was Vaughn Construction.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth broke ground on a new 22,000-sf research and laboratory facility in fall of 2005. Designed by ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge, the two-story, $9-million project will be built as an extension to the Violette Building. The first floor has been designed with flexible, modular laboratories to accommodate chemistry, biology, psychology, engineering, and a vivarium. The second floor will house containment laboratories for research.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has completed construction of the new $165-million Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory. Located on the CDC's Edward R. Roybal campus in Atlanta, the 12-story building plus attached five-story structure includes BSL-4, BSL-3, and BSL-2 facilities, offices, molecular biology suites, analytical equipment laboratories, a central glass washing facility, and a central utility plant. Housing over 450 researchers, the 400,000-sf laboratory is slated to open in fall 2005. Construction began in October 2001.

The University of Tennessee is developing the UT-Baptist Research Park in Memphis, Tenn. The 10-acre campus will consist of 1.2 million sf of bioscience laboratory, education, research, and incubator space.  Baptist Memorial Health Care donated its property in the Memphis Medical District to create the campus. A 924,000-sf building will be imploded to enable new construction to begin in the second quarter of 2006. The project will be built in six phases over ten years.

The University of Virginia will begin construction in fall 2005 on the $71-million Carter-Harrison Medical Research Building (MRB) at its main Charlottesville campus. Housing approximately 300 scientists and laboratory staff grouped in 60 research teams, the 189,000-gsf facility was designed by HDR Engineering of Alexandria, Va.

The National Institutes of Health's National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded the University of Louisville a $22 million federal grant to construct a biodefense research laboratory on its Shelby campus. One of thirteen BSL-3 Regional Biosafety Laboratories in the nation funded by NIAID since 2003, the 45,000-sf facility will be supported by $12.6 million in University funding. The building will house the University's Center for Predictive Medicine.

The National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded George Mason University (GMU) a $25-million grant to construct a new BSL-3 biocontainment laboratory in Fairfax, Va. The facility will be part of GMU's $45-million National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, an 83,000-sf facility that will accommodate research on diseases considered to be potential bioterror threats.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth broke ground in September 2005 on a $9-million, 20,000-sf research center dedicated to the study of botulism, a potential bioterrorism threat. 

The University of Hawaii has been awarded a $25 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to construct a new biodefense laboratory in Pearl City. The BSL-3 facility will be sited near the existing state Department of Health laboratory and may receive additional funding from a proposed $12 million state grant. Construction of the new biocontainment laboratory is slated to begin in fall 2006.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has completed construction of a 12-story biodefense research facility at its main campus in Atlanta. Slated to open in November 2005, the approximately 400,000-sf project includes a global communications center and an emergency operations center and will triple available BSL-4 laboratory space. Additionally, laboratories in the facility can be adjusted to different safety levels depending on the containment level needed.

The University of Chicago will begin construction in fall 2005 on the $31-million Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory, a germ research facility to be located at Argonne National Laboratory, which the University manages for the federal government.

Boston University Medical Center has received final approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority for its 410,000-sf BioSquare Phase II project in Boston. Funded by a $128 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the project will include a BSL-4 research laboratory and a 1,400-space parking garage. The facility will be part of a national network of laboratories dedicated to countering bioterror agents by developing drugs, treatments, and vaccines.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center is planning to construct a $22-million regional biocontainment laboratory on its Memphis campus. Focusing on bio-defense and infectious disease research, the facility will be funded with bonds and $14.8 million from the National Institutes of Health . Additionally, a $43-million pharmacy facility will also be constructed at the UT Health Science Center.  

The University of Georgia has selected Gilbane as the design-builder for the renovation and modernization of its College of Veterinary Medicine's 73,000-sf Animal Health Research Center, a BSL-3 Ag facility in Athens, Ga. The $35-million project includes reconstruction of laboratories, large animal suites, and support spaces to meet current codes; and upgrades to the existing building layout, security, systems, and functions.