Government

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Skanska USA the construction management services assignment for its new Biomedical Research Center in Baltimore , Md. Construction is under way on the 560,000-sf biomedical research laboratory designed to house the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute on Drug Abuse programs. The construction value is approximately $166 million. The new facility will contain clinical and research labs, office space, conference and lobby areas, and common sections with a library, food service, and security system throughout the building.

The City of Wichita dedicated the $3-million, 24,000-sf Chris Cherches CityArts Building on October 2, 2004. The facility will accommodate arts, public events, and cultural activities.  

The new 54,000-sf police station in Woodland , Calif., will be one of the nation’s first police stations to be LEED™ certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The project was a unique partnership with the City of Woodland , McCarthy Construction, and LPA . The design-build facility has functions for dispatch, C.I.D., patrol, evidence processing and storage, booking, detoxification and holding cells, as well as a community/E.O.C. room.

Opening in early 2006, the Arkansas Department of Health 's new $23-million, 82,000-sf public health laboratory will serve as a first responder facility, accommodating biological and chemical terrorism preparedness reaction for the state.

The University at Buffalo is developing the National Science Foundation George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Facility at Ketter Hall on the University's north campus in Amherst, N.Y. The $21.2-million facility, part of the National Science Foundation's overall $81.9-million project to improve understanding of earthquakes, features dual shake tables capable of real-time seismic testing of structures up to 30 feet high and 120 feet long.

The National Institutes of Health opened the Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center in Bethesda, Md., on September 22, 2004. Totally dedicated to clinical research, the 870,000-sf Hatfield Center connects to the existing Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center.

Construction began in August 2004 on a $23-million public health laboratory in Little Rock for the Arkansas Department of Health. When completed in December 2005, the three-story, 82,000-sf facility will include nearly 50,000 sf of laboratory space for the high quality testing and control of bioterroristic agents as well as infectious and genetic diseases. The facility's architectural team includes designers at Atlanta-based Lord, Aeck & Sargent and Little Rock-based architect of record, The Wilcox Group.

The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department has awarded a $450,000 contract to architectural firm NBBJ to design a $95 million VA Clinic in Columbus, Ohio. Ground will be broken in early 2005 on the 295,000-sf facility, which will replace the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Outpatient Clinic.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has completed the new Advanced Measurement Laboratory (AML ) in Gaithersburg , Md. The $235-million facility accommodates research in nanotechnology, semiconductors, biotechnology, advanced materials, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing. Completed in December 2003 and officially opened in June 2004, the AML features five separate wings with stringent environmental controls on particulate matter, temperature, humidity, vibration and electromagnetic interferences. The design includes:

The new $28-million State Criminal Justice Facility in Montgomery, Ala., has been completed by Birmingham-based Doster Construction. Designed by PH&J Architects of Montgomery , the building will house the Alabama Department of Corrections, Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Alabama Department of Pardons and Paroles, the Highway Patrol, and a central energy plant. The facility was constructed at the former site of the 400,000-sf St. Margaret’s Hospital.

Sandia/California National Laboratories dedicated the new Distributed Information Systems Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., on June 10, 2004. The 70,000-sf facility will enable high-speed information transfer between labs, particularly those with a focus on nuclear weapons research. The $37.9-laboratory will accommodate 130 researchers and include unclassified space where twenty to thirty visiting researchers can work with Sandia staff members. Sandia operates sites in both Livermore and Albuquerque.

The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston has been designated by NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) as the site of the $167-million Galveston National Laboratory. The seven-story facility will accommodate infectious disease research and could generate as much as $1.1 billion in regional economic impact over the next twenty years.

A new $44 million, 161,792-sf federal courthouse will be constructed in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Slated for completion in 2006, the project will be managed by a subsidiary of Pasadena-based Jacobs Engineering Group, who will provide design and construction services.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation celebrated the groundbreaking on its new Tampa field office on May 19, 2004. Located in the West Shore business district, the $26.6-million, 12,000-sf build-to-suit project is being constructed by Highwoods Properties of Raleigh, N.C. Replacing the bureau’s existing downtown Tampa facility, the new office is expected to reach completion in 2005.

Ground will be broken on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site in New York on July 4, 2004. Slated for completion in 2009, the tower could be the world’s tallest building. It will include a spire meant to evoke images of the Statue of Liberty. It will be located on the northwest part of the trade center site, not on the footprint of the former twin towers.