Government

Idaho State University is partnering with the Idaho National Laboratory to construct the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) in Idaho Falls. The CAES facility will be an international user facility for promoting and performing research and revitalizing education and training in nuclear energy science, engineering, technology, and related disciplines. The facility is expected to encompass 50,000 gsf to 60,000 gsf with approximately half of the building dedicated to laboratory space. Occupancy is slated for 2008.

The General Services Administration has selected Centex Construction to build the Center for Devices and Radiological Health for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in White Oak, Md. The $87-million project will include office space, a 150-seat conference room, file storage, and support areas.

Santa Clara County is building a $74-million forensic crime laboratory in San Jose, Calif. The four-story, 90,000-sf facility will be the first government-owned laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area with a DNA analysis system when it opens in 2008. The project, which will enable the study of physical evidence from crime scenes including toxicology, latent print processing, and substance analysis, began construction in May of 2006.

The University of Missouri-Columbia and the National Institutes of Health have awarded K&S Associates of St. Louis the $12.6 million contract to construct the new Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL). Located on the east campus with the Veterinary Medicine Complex, the 23,000-gsf BSL-3 facility will contain 9,768 sf of research and support space. The facility will feature a penthouse and full basement for HVAC, mechanical, and electrical systems and equipment.

Lewis and Clark Community College will begin construction in spring of 2007 on The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center. To be built near Godfrey, Ill., at the confluence of the Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri Rivers, the river ecology center will provide space for teaching and public outreach as well as developing watershed and river management strategies.

Columbia University Medical Center in New York has received an award from the National Institutes of Health of $54 million over five years to establish the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Columbia is one of twelve academic medical centers in the U.S. to receive this Clinical and Translational Science Award. This funding will support construction that will enable Columbia to expand dedicated clinical/translational research space by 40 percent to a total of 35,000 sf.

The Commonwealth of Virginia is constructing the 96,568-sf Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation (VCBR) in Burkeville. Built by Gilbane Development Company under a turnkey approach for the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, the 100-bed VCBR will be the first of its kind in Virginia. A planned expansion will bring an additional 200 beds.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has selected Cannon Design and Westlake Reed Leskosky to design a new eight-story patient tower for the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The tower will be located on the center’s Wade Park campus. The 268,000-sf facility will house the hospital’s comprehensive rehabilitation center, nursing and home care department, mental health department, and a number of other patient care programs. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2007 and reach completion in late 2009.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) opened its new $22-million Science and Technology Facility in Golden, Colo., in July of 2006. Designed to consolidate its research facilities into a single campus, the building enables NREL scientists to collaborate with private sector companies in photovoltaics and energy efficiency research. The Science and Technology Facility will also house the Department of Energy's local field office and 130 employees. Three additional facilities are planned at the site with construction beginning in 2007.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has selected Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties to build a $21.7-million, 91,000-sf office facility on two acres in Atlanta. Construction is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2006 and reach completion in the third quarter of 2007. The Department of Homeland Security will lease the facility.

The State of Maryland is constructing the new State Forensic Medical Center at the University of Maryland's BioPark in Baltimore. The 120,000-sf facility will house the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and will adhere to strict biosafety laboratory criteria. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene may occupy the remaining 26,000-sf in the six-story facility. The first level of the facility will accommodate loading and parking. The joint venture of Gaudreau Inc.

The Department of Homeland Security broke ground on the $128-million National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) in Frederick, Md., on June 26, 2006.

The new $144-million San Francisco Federal Building is slated for completion in November of 2006. Construction began on the 605,000-sf project in June 2002; the facility is now 75 percent complete. Featuring “green” building systems, the 18-story, 240-foot glass tower will be only 65 feet wide, allowing the entrance of natural light from both sides. An unconventional HVAC system, including opening windows, will replace standard air conditioning.

The new $97-miillion National Security Sciences building has opened at Los Alamos National Laboratory.  The design-build project contains 680 offices, a 600-person lecture hall, and administrative and staff facilities. Work in the new facility will focus on solutions to national security issues.

Northrop Grumman Corp. broke ground on the 185,000-sf Commonwealth Enterprise Solutions Center in Chesterfield County, Va., in May of 2006. Housing 185,000 sf of offices, the building is sited on 28 acres. It will serve as Virginia's primary data center and will house the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, as well as containing a technology lab, a security operations center, a video broadcast studio, a training room, and a fitness center. Completion is slated for fall of 2007.