Government

Brookhaven National Laboratory celebrated the groundbreaking of the 94,500-sf Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) in Upton, N.Y., in October of 2005. Designed by HDR Architecture of Alexandria, Va., and constructed by E.W. Howell Co. of Woodbury, N.Y., the $81-million CFN is one of five Nanoscale Science Research Centers to be constructed at Department of Energy national laboratories. The construction cost of the facility is $38 million.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has selected Gilbane Development Company to develop and leaseback a new headquarters building and renovate several existing facilities in the Houston area. The new 130,000-sf, five-story headquarters will be developed on a 16-acre site in western Houston. The project will also include a 14,000-sf stand-alone laboratory and 575-vehicle parking garage at the site.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has completed construction of a 12-story biodefense research facility at its main campus in Atlanta. Slated to open in November 2005, the approximately 400,000-sf project includes a global communications center and an emergency operations center and will triple available BSL-4 laboratory space. Additionally, laboratories in the facility can be adjusted to different safety levels depending on the containment level needed.

Construction began in early July 2005 on a new $6.6-million facility for New Mexico's Sevilleta Research and Education Center.

The University of Chicago will begin construction in fall 2005 on the $31-million Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory, a germ research facility to be located at Argonne National Laboratory, which the University manages for the federal government.

The Food and Drug Administration has completed the 551,000-sf Center for Drug Evaluation and Research in White Oak, Md. Housing 1,750 employees, the facility is the largest building at the new FDA headquarters complex under construction in White Oak. Upon completion in 2010, the FDA campus will include 3.1 million sf of office and lab space and will consolidate employees from 48 leased sites in Maryland.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Computer Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C., has achieved LEED® Silver certification. The two-story, 100,000-sf facility was completed in 2001 at a cost of $18 million, or approximately $150 per square foot minus site and utility infrastructure cost. Designed by O'Brien/Atkins Associates and built by Skanska USA , the facility was constructed on a standard budget.

Sedgwick County has awarded Kechi-based Walz Harman & Huffman Construction the $6.8 million contract to build the county's new Public Safety Center in Wichita. Construction will begin on the two-story, 27,000-sf building in early July 2005. Designed by Wichita-based Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture, the facility is expected to reach completion in 18 months. The total cost of the project is $10.4 million including preparation, design, and equipment.

The Pelham Police Department will relocate to its new Pelham, Ala., facility in spring of 2006. Located next to City Hall, the $6.5-million building will house a jail, courtrooms, magistrate's office, an evidence laboratory, an indoor firing range, and an armory. The three-story, 46,000-sf facility will be equipped with 24-hour emergency power. The project team consists of architectural firm Paul B. Krebs & Associates and project manager Maxus Construction Co.

The Environmental Protection Agency broke ground in early June 2005 on its new Region 8 headquarters in Denver, Colo. The $90-million, 292,000-sf facility will house office and commercial space.

The General Services Administration has selected Mascaro Construction as general contractor for the planned federal courthouse in Buffalo, N.Y. Designed by architectural firm Kohn Pederson Fox , the $100-million, 265,000-sf facility will begin construction in 2007. Construction documents for the 10-story building are expected to be completed by year-end 2005.  

BRG Precision Products , a maker of radio synchronized time displays for government agencies, will relocate its manufacturing and shipping operations into a 43,000-sf building planned for construction in the Derby Industrial Park in Derby, Kan. The $2-million project represents a 600 percent expansion of the company's footprint. Construction is expected to begin in summer of 2005 with occupancy slated for December of the same year. BRG is currently working on a $20-million contract replacing information displays in the Pentagon.

The National Institutes of Health has selected Gilbane as construction manager for a proposed Integrated Research Facility (IRF) at Fort Detrick, Maryland. Located on approximately six acres, the facility is intended to support research at BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4. The proposed IRF may provide as much as 150,000 gsf of floor space, housing laboratory space for animal research, radiology equipment, mechanical space, and a waste-handling area.

United Space Alliance, the prime contractor for NASA's space shuttle program's daily operations, has awarded L&M Technologies of Albuquerque a contract valued at $102 million to support NASA facilities in Houston, Huntsville, Ala., and Titusville, Fla. The subcontractor for the six-year contract, which includes hard infrastructure support such as utility management, procurement, and operations, is CH2M Hill. United Space Alliance is owned by The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin Corp.

The City of San Antonio has awarded Ross & Baruzzini of St. Louis the design contract for the new 30,000-sf, $25 million joint City/County Emergency Management Services Facility and Operations Center. Ross & Baruzzini will serve as an advisor during construction and manage all subcontractors for the design-build project.