Biotechnology

Ohio State University celebrated the opening of the $126 million Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry Building (CBEC) in Columbus in April of 2015. The two-building, 235,000-sf project includes a four-story teaching and research building physically connected to a six-story office and research building. The LEED-certified complex features wet research labs with ancillary support, computational research suites, shared core labs, instructional spaces, and offices for faculty, graduate students, and administration.

Stony Brook University is planning to build the $62 million Innovation and Discovery Center in the 246-acre Research and Development Park in Stony Brook, N.Y. Designed by Mitchell Giurgola Architects, the 200,000-gsf business incubator will provide laboratory and office space for innovative biotechnology and high-tech companies. Construction will begin in spring of 2016 and completion is expected within three years.

The University of Arkansas will begin construction in mid-2015 on the $16.3 million Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville. Designed by WER Architects, the 60,000-sf facility will provide multidisciplinary laboratories and greenhouses for plant and animal science as well as water quality research. The project will include a 300-seat auditorium and administrative offices for the UA Agricultural Experiment Station. The general contractor for the facility is Nabholz Construction.

George Washington University opened the $275 million Science and Engineering Hall in March of 2015 in Washington, D.C. Located on the Foggy Bottom campus, the 500,000-sf interdisciplinary facility provides classrooms, integrated core facilities, and collaborative research spaces. Designed by Ballinger, the facility houses laboratories for biomedical engineering, nanofabrication, molecular genetics, imaging, and environmental engineering. The three-story high bay lab will support structural testing for large-scale construction components.

The University of Aberystwyth is planning to build the $62.5 million Innovation and Enterprise Campus in Wales in the United Kingdom.

The University of Illinois dedicated the $95 million Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building in Urbana in October of 2014. Designed by SmithGroup of Chicago, the six-story, 235,000-sf facility provides advanced classrooms, labs, and equipment suites for interdisciplinary research in biotechnology, communications, computing, energy, and nanotechnology.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine completed a three-phase construction project that for the first time consolidates its entire marine research operation into one facility, replacing a collection of buildings, some of which had neither heat nor air conditioning. The new Ocean Science and Education Campus, on 54 acres where the Damariscotta River empties into the Gulf of Maine, includes a shore facility for research vessels.

The University of Connecticut began construction in June of 2015 on the 119,000-sf Innovation Partnership Building in Storrs. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the $170 million project will provide flexible laboratories to support collaborative R&D with industry partners in advanced manufacturing, materials science, cyber infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.

The University of Cambridge is planning to build a new chemical engineering and biotechnology building in the United Kingdom. The $67 million facility will provide teaching and research space for the recently merged Department of Chemical Engineering and the Institute of Biotechnology. The project team includes architect BDP, general contractor Morgan Sindall, and mechanical and electrical contractor Shepherd Engineering Services. Completion is expected in June of 2015.

Auburn University dedicated the renovated Biological Engineering Research Laboratory (BERL) in November of 2013 in Auburn, Ala. The $6 million project provides AU's Department of Agriculture with new environmental rooms and technology-rich research labs for for chemical analysis, biomaterials characterization, and food engineering. Supported by funding from the National Science Foundation and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the renovation included the installation of upgraded infrastructure and building systems in the 22,800-sf facility.

Biogen Idec is exchanging the tired academic layout of a 20-year-old lab facility for an open and modular configuration that combines innovative “I” and “we” spaces to stimulate not only efficient space utilization, but also competitiveness and an alignment with the company’s scientific goals in a dynamic industry that requires the utmost flexibility in its researchers and their lab spaces.

Monsanto broke ground in November of 2013 on a 400,000-sf expansion of its 210-acre campus in Chesterfield, Mo. The project includes the construction of a $140 million technology and research building, a $70 million conference center, and a $30 million parking garage topped by a $60 million greenhouse. Accommodating 675 investigators and staff, the expansion will provide 250 labs and plant growth chambers as well as 36 greenhouses for collaborative research in breeding, biotechnology, and agronomics.

Nova Southeastern University will begin construction in January of 2014 on the $80 million Center for Collaborative Research in Davie, Fla. The 220,000-sf facility will provide a genomics research center, wet laboratories, and business incubator space for biotech companies.

BASF celebrated the opening of its new plant science facilities in Research Triangle Park, N.C., in September of 2013. The $33 million expansion includes 80,000 sf of office, laboratory, and greenhouse space. The project features a climate-controlled greenhouse, laboratories for plant biotechnology research, and an environmentally-controlled insect production facility. BASF is based in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with the 480,000-sf Research Triangle Park campus serving as the company's U.S. headquarters.

Non-residential construction volumes and pricing continued their upward trend in the second quarter, with prices increasing an average of 2 to 4 percent in the first half of 2013. These factors, along with growing market confidence and a narrowing labor supply, will continue to push new construction costs closer to the trend line for the near to medium term.