Government

The Food and Drug Administration dedicated its new 350,000-gsf Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, which adjoins the College Park Metro station, on October 1. The five-story structure, designed by Kallman, McKinnell & Wood, accommodates state-of-the-art chemistry and life sciences labs, office space, support facilities, an auditorium, a library, three training rooms, and conference rooms on each floor. Special features include an atrium, fitness center, health center, automated teller machine, and a secure parking lot.

The Clark R. Bavin National Forensic Laboratory in Ashland is planning a 37,000-sf addition and renovation. It is the only comprehensive full-service wildlife crime lab in the world, and serves an international purpose by meeting the forensic needs of wildlife agencies globally. HERA Inc. of St. Louis is responsible for laboratory programming for the addition that will supplement the existing 23,000-sf crime lab facility. HarleyEllis in Southfield, Mich., is the architect and engineer.

The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is planning a new state-of-the-art forensic biology laboratory. The 322,000-gsf, state-of-the-art DNA facility will consolidate disconnected forensic activities conducted at separate sites into one new 12-story facility at Bellevue Hospital Center. HERA Inc.   of St. Louis is providing forensic lab design. Perkins Eastman Architects in association with LSGM Architects in New York are the architects for the project.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is proposing a new 52l,000-sf research facility and distance learning center for the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences and the Oak Ridge Center for Advanced Studies. The building’s design, completed by Harley Ellis of Detroit, Mich., includes a computer center lab; large lecture hall; specially equipped high-end distance learning center; four self-contained incubator suites for computer-based collaborations; four team suites for multi-disciplinary research.

Maricopa County Medical Examiner office and parking structure recently broke ground. The St. Louis firm HERA Inc. provided lab planning for the 62,000-sf facility as part of the team led by The Stichler Group in Phoenix. The facility, programmed for a staff of 114, features autopsy suites, DNA and trace evidence labs, and pathology, toxicology, histology and forensic science labs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to begin construction of the $132 million Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory. The lab will house multiple research activities,  providing approximately 370,000 gsf of research space for 459 personnel. The project scope includes a ten-story tower containing a combination of labs, lab support, and scientific personnel workstations. An attached five-story structure will house specialized lab spaces. Together, the labs will accommodate Biosafety Level 2, 3, and 4 work.

 The United States Institute of Peace will convert a parking lot near the Vietnam and Korean war memorials into a 75,000- to 100,000-sf facility to promote the use of peaceful means in the prevention, management, and resolution of international conflicts. The $31- to $35 million structure will house approximately 60 employees. It will accommodate both conference and research space as well as an exhibit area, and will provide 340 underground parking spaces, to be shared with the nearby Navy medical facility.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has decided that its new 650,000-sf headquarters—called Station Place—will be built adjacent to Union Station and the Thurgood Marshall Building. The architect for the project is New York-based Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates; it will be developed by Louis Dreyfus Properties, also of New York. December 2003 is the scheduled occupancy date.

The State of California has contracted with Wareham Development for 68,000 sf at the Point Richmond Tech Center to house a new DNA-testing lab for the Department of Justice. Following $300/sf tenant improvements by Wareham, the state will occupy the lab in late 2001, where a DNA database of every criminal in California will be compiled.

 The Organization of American States plans to renovate its General Secretariat building in Washington, where operations will be consolidated onto six floors and a lower level; three remaining floors will be leased. OAS selected the architectural firm Group Goetz and the engineering firm Joseph Loring Inc. to work on the project.

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 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will occupy all but the top two floors of a nine-story building being developed by Lowe Enterprises Mid-Atlantic. The interior design will be handled by Hickok Warner Fox.   The FTC expects to occupy 200,000 sf of the 260,000-sf, $65-million structure in July 2002.

The Pentagon anticipates proceeding with its renovation. The announcement of a $620 million contract award to the developer/architectural team of  Colorado-based Hensel Phelps is expected. The 12 to 14 year project would include the reconstruction of 4 million sf in four wedges of the five-story building, each wedge housing approximately 5,000 employees. In addition to Hensel Phelps Construction, the project team includes Shalom Baranes Associates, HDR Architecture, MC Dean, Studio Architecture, and Southland Industries.

The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms' scheduled ribbon-cutting ceremony was postponed by the General Services Administration pursuant to the terrorist attacks. The $104-million building is being designed by architect Moshe Safdie to accommodate approximately 1,100 employees in 295,000 sf. Parking spots for 200 are also included in the project.

The Department of the Interior’s 1.3 million-sf 1930s-era building is scheduled for  modernization. The General Services Administration has awarded Grunley Construction of Rockville, Md., a $18.6 million construction contract for phase one of the project—HVAC central plant work on several levels, some demolition and new construction in part of the building’s northernmost wing. The building currently accommodates approximately 2,500 employees. Completion of the entire project is anticipated in late 2008.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, a new 746,000-sf, 10-story building, was dedicated in September. The $203.5-million structure provides office space (296,000 sf); common space, including a conference center, employee cafeteria, and a Monetary Museum (84,000 sf); and support equipment (110,000 sf). An $11-million façade occupies 46,000 sf. Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates Inc. of Atlanta in association with New York-based  Robert A.M. Stern Architects,   designed the building. BTMI Buildings was the construction manager.