Government

The General Services Administration has selected GGA.Ehrenkrantz Eckstut& Kuhn Architects to design the 1.8 million-sf, $540 million upgrade of the Department of Commerce facility in Washington, D.C. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and includes the White House Visitors Center, the National Aquarium, and a parking garage.  GGA.Ehrenkrantz Eckstut& Kuhn Architects is a partnership of Group Goetz Architects of D.C. and Ehrenkrantz Eckstut& Kuhn Architects of New York.

The Bay-Delta Science Consortium is considering creating its principal research station at a decommissioned Army base just south of Rio Vista, Calif. The project could house up to 200 researchers studying the Delta’s water quality and ecosystem at the station. Housing approximately 20,000 sf of office and lab space, the 28-acre site would accommodate marina slips for 40 research vessels and recreation facilities. The 28-acre site is desirable due to its central location between San Francisco Bay and the Delta.

A new Snohomish County administration building will be constructed in Everett, Washington. Including three floors of customer service office space, a public plaza, and an outdoor café, the facility will replace a parking garage located next to the existing administration building, which will be integrated into the new structure. The building is part of a $170-million makeover of the county campus. The project includes a 1,200-space parking garage and a jail, which is already under construction. Completion of the administration facility and the jail is slated for 2004.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is planning the East Baltimore Development, a new biotechnology park in Maryland. Located north of Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, the park will be the cornerstone of a new planned community as part the revitalization of East Baltimore. A $22-million loan will fund the development.

The U.S. General Services Administration has selected Skanska USA Building as the design-builder to complete the design of and construct the new U.S. Census Bureau headquarters at Suitland Federal Center in Suitland, Md. HKS Inc. of Dallas will serve as the design consultant for the project.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is moving its mailroom operations and some functions, including facility maintenance, from Atlanta to 122,600 sf in Chamblee, Ga. The move is based partly on security concerns and will occur after build-out in early 2004.

The General Services Administration is involved in a nine-year renovation of the Department of the Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C. Designed by architectural firm Shalom Baranes and Associates and engineering firm GHT, the facility will be renovated in six phases, each involving a full wing. Phase I, which began in November 2002, is slated for completion in May 2004. The renovation is comprised of new HVAC, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, security, and fire alarm systems.

Oregon Health & Science University has received $2.5-million of federal research funding to establish a National Center for Research on Bioterrorism Agents in Portland, Ore. Studying issues important to combating bioterrorism, the center will accommodate over 20 OHSU faculty members focused on disease research. A comprehensive database of pathogens will be developed to create more effective methods of vaccination against a bioterrorist attack.

The General Services Administration has selected Jacobs Engineering Group to provide construction management for renovations at the Social Security Administration’s headquarters in Woodlawn, Md. Renovations include façade replacement, interior finishes, re-roofing, mechanical systems, power distribution, emergency power, branch circuit wiring, lighting, fire protection branch piping and heads, LAN/WAN, telephone and data lines, and domestic water distribution.

The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute is working with the National Institute of Standards & Technology to develop a planned expansion of the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology called CARB II. The 140,000-sf, $38-million project will host new laboratories, core facilities, and training programs for the biotech work force and will cost $50-million to build. CARB I is an 88,000-sf building sited on six acres at the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center in Rockville, Md.

The U.S. Supreme Court has selected Hillier of Philadelphia to design the renovation of its Washington, D.C., facility. The $120-million, five-year project will address security issues as well as modernizing the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has opened a new regional headquarters that includes the agency's district office and a modern, multi-purpose laboratory. The new regional headquarters, which completes the FDA’s consolidation of 18 outdated laboratories around the country, is located in Irvine, Calif., and will serve the Southwest Pacific Region. Situated on a 10-acre plot purchased from the University of California, the facility will replace a 50-year-old lab in Los Angeles and the district office currently located in Irvine.

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs has leased the 60,767-sf Corporate Oaks One facility in Herndon, Va., from NVCommercial.  The two-story office building, previously occupied by VeriSign, was built in 1985 and renovated in 1999. Metro Management Services will provide property and construction management services.

U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), a nonprofit public health organization, will construct up to 150,000 sf of lab and office space adjacent to its current 80,000-sf Rockville, Md., headquarters. USP is located in the Twinbrook neighborhood, just north of the Department of Health and Human Services which USP serves.

The Army Corps of Engineers has contracted Centex Construction of Fairfax, Va., to construct a $60-million addition to the Andrew T. McNamara Building Defense Threat Reduction Center at Fort Belvoir. The 325,000-sf, six-story facility will be accompanied by a 300,000-sf parking structure for 1,000 vehicles. Designed by RTKL Associates, the project features a blast-resistant addition to the building and site work on a secured compound. Completion is expected in August 2005.