Glendale-based media/entertainment company DreamWorks SKG is planning to lease over 100,000 sf in Redwood City's Pacific Shores for PDI, the company's Palo Alto-based computer animation division. PDI currently occupies 65,000 sf in three buildings in Palo Alto and employs 300 people. The size of the Pacific Shores location would allow PDI to more than double its workforce. The company has been seeking a Bay Area expansion fit for two years.
Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI) has relocated its national call center, credit, billing, accounts receivable and third-party payer operations to the 58,000-sf KCI Advantage Center at the University Park Tech Center IV in San Antonio. The health care products maker previously housed these operations in 28,000 sf adjacent to the KCI Tower across the street. KCI's 290 employees were relocated in early March to the new facility, which was dedicated on April 5.
Catellus Development Corp. of San Francisco has preliminary approval from the Austin City Council to redevelop the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. The 709-acre site will house a massive mixed-use project including office, retail, residential, and civic buildings. The 20-year project is estimated to cost between $80 million and $146 million. Ground may be broken on the first phase of construction early next year.
Siemens Inc. has moved its Enterprise Network Division into 325,000 sf at San Jose's Skyport Plaza. The first phase of the 38-acre mixed use Skyport Plaza development consists of three eight-story buildings, two four-level parking garages providing approximately 1,760 parking spaces, a basketball court and pedestrian walkways. The second phase, a mirror of Phase I's commercial office and parking design, will progress as economic conditions improve.
The $503,000-million contract for FedEx's Greensboro hub was recently approved by the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Included on the project team is engineering firm Baker & Associates, based in Pittsburgh, Pa. with an office in Greensboro; ECS, a geo-technical company; and Regional Land Surveyors.
Endeavor Real Estate Group LLC is developing IBM's original Northwest Austin research site into The Domain, a 234-acre campus totalling over 2,000,000 sf. Purchased in December of 1999, plans for the campus included a conglomerate of office and retail facilities, manufacturing and distribution space, and possibly multi-family residential development. Located in an Austin high tech corridor, features such as high speed Internet access, telecommunication, enhanced utilities and redundant power make The Domain attractive to tenants.
Sabre Inc. is planning a 2,000,000-sf corporate campus on 175 acres in Southlake, Texas, slated for completion in 2008. Developed by Maguire Partners, the campus will require over $540 million in capital investment over the next ten years and will house 10,000 employees. The project is part of the Solana mixed-use development.
BioHouston Inc., a business incubator, is planning to build a $633-million biotechnology park on 64 acres in Houston. The lab and office park will facilitate life science research by bringing the medical, educational, and corporate communites together in a centralized location. Construction on the first building in the biotech park will be completed in late summer of 2002 by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp. is considering a consolidation of its Research Triangle Park offices with a move to 85,000 sf of new office space in the Triangle. The search for new facilities was prompted by Lockheed Martin's acquisition in late 2001 of OAO Corp., which also has offices in the Triangle. Both firms provide the federal government with information technology solutions.
EI Inc., formerly Environmental Investigations, is relocating its Durham, N.C., headquarters to a new office facility under construction in Cary. The environmental and safety consulting firm will occupy half of the Devon Building's 2600 sf. Designed by Michael Hining Architects and built by general contractor Resolute Building Inc., the structure is developed by EI in partnership with Durham-based real estate developer Zapolski+Rudd. EI's Training and Compliance Center will be housed in the facility's large conference room accommodating up to 30 students.
Lockheed-Martin plans to occupy at least two buildings at a new four-building office park under construction in Mount Laurel. The developer of the 400,000-sf complex is Whitesell Construction Co. Inc. of Delran, Penn.
Transamerica Corp. is adding significant new security features to its high-rise, the 500,000-sf Transamerica Pyramid in downtown San Francisco. A $3-million exterior upgrade will surround the building with 98 steel bollards, interspersed with trees. The lobby is undergoing a $3.5-million upgrade providing tenants two entrances controlled by card key access desks, a separate messenger drop-off desk, and new flooring and lighting. A new entry to the garage, and a valet gateway will also be provided. Completion of the upgrades is anticipated in July 2002.
FedEx Corp., based in Memphis, Tenn., plans to convert a former rice milling plant in San Francisco into a new 115,000-sf office and distribution facility. The $10-million project, designed by Solano Beach, Calif.-based McMahon Development Group, includes a two-story, 10,000-sf office building topped with parking, and a warehouse providing 115 van stalls, 250 parking slots, vehicle maintenance garages, and a customer counter. Construction at the 4.2-acre site is scheduled to begin in June 2002, with operations commencing in December 2002.
Simeon Properties is planning to redevelop the 86-acre former Zenica site in Richmond, Calif., to build the $100 million Western Research Center, a multi-phase biotech incubator. The first $50-million, 330,000-sf phase will involve demolishing six buildings, moving two existing buildings and building two additional facilities. The second phase will encompass 180,000 sf in two more buildings. A possible third phase, dependent on an entitlement from the City of Richmond and environmental remediation, would open up the remaining 55 acres.
Suntory Water Group of Atlanta is consolidating regional call centers with a move to the planned Tanners Creek project in Flowery Branch, Ga. Suntory will be occupying 20,000 sf of the 2,000,000-sf, 150-acre mixed-use development which features fiber-optic cable technology and includes office, hotel, retail, and restaurant facilities.
