Funding from the proposed $900 billion economic stimulus package, which may be approved in February of 2009, will be awarded to “shovel-ready” construction projects. Municipal and educational institutions will compete for the funding, which would be available for projects with plans and contracts in place that can begin construction within 18 months.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began construction on a 120,000-sf laboratory in Boulder, Colo., in early February of 2009. Providing 58,000 net assignable square feet laboratory space, the facility represents an expansion of NIST’s existing Boulder campus and will support research in areas including precision measurement, nanotechnology, biochemical sensors, and quantum computing. The project architect is HDR with PCL Construction as general contractor. Completion is expected in 2012.
The Department of Energy has approved the construction of the $912 million National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Construction will begin in 2009 and reach completion in 2015. The facility will be a medium-energy storage ring delivering leading-edge brightness and flux and exceptional beam stability. The project will support multidisciplinary research in advanced materials, nanotechnology, condensed matter, materials physics, chemistry, and biology.
The Department of Homeland Security has selected Manhattan, Kansas, as the site for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. Located at Kansas State University (KSU), the $650 million, 500,000-sf laboratory will accommodate research on zoonotic and foreign animal diseases. The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility will be comprised of two laboratory buildings and four outbuildings. The main lab will provide BSL-2, BSL-3, BSL-3Ag, and BSL-4 space with the second lab building housing small-scale vaccine and reagent production.
The Food and Drug Administration dedicated the renovated Building One at the White Oak Federal Research Center in Silver Spring, Md., in December of 2008. Building One is the seventh White Oak structure completed as part of the FDA's consolidation project on the campus. The General Services Administration oversaw the renovation of the historic 102,000-sf, four-story facility that was originally the headquarters of the Naval Surface Warfare Center.
Sandia National Laboratories broke ground on the $39.6 million Ion Beam Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., in December of 2008. The 27,000-sf facility will enable simulation of the large neutron fluxes created in nuclear explosions. Completion is expected in 2009 with research operations commencing in 2010.
Natural Resources Canada broke ground on the new CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory in Hamilton, Ontario, in December of 2008. Located in the McMaster Innovation Park, the LEED-certified facility will accommodate research and development in structural metals and alloys, materials design, pilot-scale processing, and performance evaluation. CANMET-MTL is a Government of Canada laboratory previously located in Ottawa. The new facility, created in partnership with McMaster University, will open in 2010.
Jackson State University opened the Center for the Study of Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management in November of 2008. Located in Jackson, Miss., the facility will enable the Department of Homeland Security to research solutions for protecting at-risk infrastructure, improving communication, and enhancing recovery efforts in response to natural disasters.
The Department of Energy is constructing the $224 million Physical Sciences Facility for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. The three-building, 200,000-sf project includes facilities for radiation detection, materials science and technology, and nuclear and chemical weapons compliance testing. Ground was broken on the project in August of 2007 with construction commencing in August of 2008. Completion is expected in 2010.
The Centers for Disease Control will initiate construction in January of 2009 on the second phase of the Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases facility in Fort Collins, Colo. The first 165,000-sf phase, representing 80 percent of the completed project, broke ground in August of 2004 and reached completion in May of 2007. Phase two is comprised of the completion of the fourth floor of the facility and is slated for completion in early 2010.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded the joint venture construction firm of Clark/Hunt a $364.9 million contract to build a 790,000-sf medical center in Las Vegas, Nev. Slated for completion by September 2011, the project will include 90 hospital beds, surgical suites, laboratories, nuclear medicine, and an MRI. The sustainably-designed hospital will provide inpatient care, ambulatory care, and mental health services. A separate nursing home and ancillary structures will also be built on the 150-acre campus.
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has received $310 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to upgrade the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Va. The project includes construction of a new experimental hall and the renovation of the three existing experimental halls, as well as increasing the accelerated electron beam to 12 billion electron volts. Completion is slated for 2015.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will dedicate the National Biodefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center (NBACC) on October 22, 2008. Part of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., NBACC will support biological threat characterization and bioforensic research. The 160,000-sf lab will employ approximately 120 people and will include a vivarium and BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories.
Maricopa County is constructing a 675,000-sf tower addition to its criminal justice complex in Phoenix, Arizona. Designed by Gould Evans with building systems engineered by Syska Hennessy Group, the 17-story building is slated for completion in 2011. Providing 32 additional courtrooms, secure judicial chambers, office areas and support spaces, the flexible building will feature floor-by-floor air handing units for improved system performance and indoor air quality.
The State of California is implementing an $8 billion hospital construction program at state prisons. The joint venture program management team is comprised of URS Corp. and Bovis Lend Lease. Featuring integrated project delivery principles and lean construction methodology, the project includes construction of seven California prison hospitals by 2014.
