Government

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of Atlanta recently selected McCarthy of St. Louis to construct its $132-million Building 18, the Emerging Infections Diseases Laboratory. Construction is scheduled to begin in September 2001 at the CDC’s Roybal Campus. The new lab will provide approximately 310,500 gsf of space for 459 scientific personnel, and will be completed in two phases. Phase I, a six-story, 40,000-gsf structure, will provide dry lab space for 184 lab staff.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has received site approval for a new $34.1-million headquarters to be built at the 226-acre Suitland Federal Center. The 208,271-sf facility will be located almost entirely underground. The landscaped roof, almost at ground-level, will incorporate skylights to provide natural light to offices below. NOAA employees from around the country (but not Washington, D.C.) will be consolidated in the new building, which is scheduled to open in 2004. By 2011, NOAA anticipates employing 648 people.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consolidated headquarters and laboratory campus broke ground recently at White Oak, a base realignment and closure site formerly home to the Naval Laboratory campus. The FDA, currently housed in more than 40 buildings at 18 different locations in the Washington, D.C., region will use 130 acres of the 670-acre campus.

The National Institutes of Health Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center, which broke ground in February 1999, opened in late August 2000. Spaulding & Slye was the developer of the fast-track $32-million, 82,500-sf facility, where researchers in immunology, virology, and HIV will work together toward developing an AIDs vaccine by 2007. The 10-story structure features laboratories, a high-tech education and conference center, cyber café, support spaces, and offices for principal investigators. For flexibility, an open lab plan with 11’ x 13’ space planning modules was chosen.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently awarded a $174-million construction contract for the Advanced Measurement Laboratory. The prime contractor is Clark/Gilford, a joint venture between The Clark Construction Group of Bethesda, Md., and Gilford Corporation of Beltsville, Md. HDR Architecture of Alexandria, Va., designed the 511,040-sf facility; completion is scheduled for 2004.

The Veterans Administration has awarded a contract to LCOR of Berwyn, Pa., to develop a $150-million, 600,000-sf medical and research complex across the street from the Duke University Medical Center in Durham. The project will include 19,000 sf of primary care clinic space and 40,000 sf of medical and research space, plus retail and commercial space with parking on a 3.5-acre lot. As many as seven buildings are planned, with construction scheduled to begin in 2001. NBBJ, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., is the designer for the project.

U.S. Department of Interior's Fish & Wildlife Service has retained HarleyEllis of Southfield, Mich., to provide architectural and engineering design services for the Clark R. Bavin National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory expansion in Ashland. The 48,000-sf project encompasses the analysis and renovation of 23,000-sf of existing facility and the design of 25,000 sf of expansion. The expanded facility will house forensics labs, a firing range, administration, and conference space.

U.S. Department of Agriculture has consolidated operations from 13 regional offices in six states at the new Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Eastern Regional Hub at North Carolina State University's Centennial campus in Raleigh. The 35,000-sf hub, located in the Venture II building, accommodates Animal Care and Investigative and Enforcement Services; Plant Protection and Quarantine; Veterinary Services; and Wildlife Services. The current staff of 80 is expected to grow to 150 people by the end of 2000.

U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory has awarded a contract for comprehensive engineering design and construction services to a team comprised of San Francisco-based URS Corporation, Burns & Roe and Technical Design. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract runs for five years, with five option years, and has a potential value of $25 million per year.

National Institutes of Health has three major projects under construction. The Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center is a $360 million, 600,000-gsf replacement hospital plus an additional 850,000 sf of research labs. The Washington office of Portland, Ore.-based Zimmer Gunsul Frasca designed the "clinical research model" building, with labs close to patient care units. Completion is anticipated in December 2002.

The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a defense contractor, has plans to consolidate its operations in 222,159 sf at a build-to-suit in Alexandria's Mark Center. IDA currentlly occupies two buildings at the site. The new 260,000-sf building, slated for completion in February 2002, was designed by Davis Carter Scott and is being developed by Mark Winkler Co.

A new bill introduced in February 2000 called the Truthfulness, Responsibility, and Accountability in Contracting Act - Contracting (TRAC) Act," H.R. 3766, "Prohibits any Federal agency from making a decision to privatize, outsource, contract out, or contract for the performance of a function currently performed by such agency or to conduct a study to convert a function from Federal to contractor performance."

The 66-year-old U.S. Custom House became the first building in Pennsylvania to receive an Energy Star Buildings Label from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for energy efficiency. The Energy Star Buildings Label recognizes the nation's top 25 percent most energy efficient buildings in the areas of energy performance and indoor environment standards.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) dedicated its new $2.3 million, 354-seat conference center in May 2000. The 12,518-sf facility--built in what was an abandoned theater--will be the new site for NTSB proceedings and hearings on civil aviation accidents. Special features include a stage with movable panels; two 9' x 12' dual rear projection screens capable of displaying traditional visuals, videotapes, DVDs, and live video; a six-zone distributed sound system accommodating 34 microphone inputs; and easy access for the media.

The National Fire and Protection Agency (NFPA) has partnered with Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) to build a set of Consensus Codes--a new set of codes for the built environment. Their goal is to provide safety officials with a new consistent and compatible set of codes by the year 2003. As part of the Consensus Code project NFPA also plans to devise a NFPA Building Code.