High Tech

Hewlett Packard was recently awarded the Association of Briefing Program Managers 2002 trophy for best new or renovated center in the nation for its 400,000-sf Executive Briefing Center in Cupertino. Designed for all technology to be invisible, the renovated 14-year-old center houses product showcases and shareholder and company meetings. The 10-month project was completed by Toeniskoeter & Breeding and RMW Architecture and Interiors of San Francisco.   

Concord EFS, a leading electronic commerce provider, has acquired 27 acres of land for a new, state-of-the-art world headquarters campus. Construction will begin immediately on the 285,000-sf campus and is scheduled for completion in spring 2004. Almost 1,000 employees will be located at the new facility, consolidating the company's workforce from five Memphis locations into one. The executive offices, administrative functions, customer service operations, terminal deployment facilities, and high-tech data center will be located on site.

Network storage firm Sun Microsystems has awarded Cushman & Wakefield a three-year multimillion-dollar contract to provide facilities and cost management services for its 220 nationwide properties. Effective October 1, the contract comprises 11.2 million sf and will be serviced from San Francisco. Cushman, retained to save on expenses and provide tech upgrades to the campuses, will hire over 200 employees to handle the account. Services provided by Cushman include accounting, administration, call center management, energy management, engineering, and health and safety issues.

The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University is in the process of raising $80 million for capital projects. A gift of $500,000 has been contributed by Cisco Systems to create Fuqua's Center for Innovation and Educational Technologies.

The State University at Albany's Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics will expand with a massive $400-million research and development center. Created by an international consortium of computer chip manufacturers, the site will employ 250 researchers engaged in 300-millimeter chip development. The state of New York will contribute $210-million for construction, equipment, and specialized tools.

Delta Search Labs is building a $300-million supercomputer lab in 50,000-sf of leased space at 700 Technology Square at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Expanding its 15,000-sf Kendall Square supercomputer operations, the new facility will enable researchers to visualize their data. 

Computer Sciences Corp. has halted construction plans for its 194,000-sf, $20-million Irving, Texas, headquarters, and may consider instead a lease of existing space. The technical services firm, based in El Segundo, Calif., hopes to consolidate operations housed in 403,600 sf in five Dallas-Fort Worth area buildings. The project team for the planned Irving headquarters includes McMahon Development as project manager and Clayco as general contractor.

KIO Networks is planning a collocation data center in Mexico City. Designed by EYP Mission Critical Facilities, a firm with offices in Boston, the facility will contain data storage equipment for multiple companies. The data center will be housed in a 30,000-sf former warehouse.

Sun Microsystems has selected Elaine Construction Co. as construction manager for a 70,000-sf renovation of Building No. 6 on the company's Burlington campus. Designed by ADD Inc. of Cambridge, the project includes renovations of a computer ranch and office areas and is slated for completion by August of 2002.

Genmark Automation, expanding its tool and factory automation operations for the semiconductor industry, is developing a new 53,000-sf Milpitas facility which will be fully operational by midsummer of 2002. Genmark aims to efficiently produce technologically dynamic integrated automation solutions for customer productivity.

Advancing California's Emerging Technologies (ACET) may team up with Catellus Development to create ACET's new home on 3.3 acres of the 213-acre former U.S. Naval Air Station Fleet Industrial Center. Originally a bioscience incubator, ACET has expanded its focus to include technology and energy applications. Currently operating from 8,800 sf of smaller Alameda Naval Air station labs, the ACET is seeking a $64-million grant to cover land, design and building costs for the new facility.

San Jose-based semiconductor equipment maker Novellus Systems is expanding its Tualatin, Oregon, operations with the opening of a 382,000-sf plant. Located on a 58-acre campus, the factory will manufacture products for chipmakers to produce advanced integrated circuits, including Novellus' copper metallization and damascene dielectric deposition tools.

Brampton, Ontario-based Nortel Networks opened its new 14-acre office and lab campus in Santa Clara on May 29, 2002. Ground was broken on the two-story, 760,000-sf facility in September 2000 with buildings reaching completion in March and April 2002. Consolidating 15 separate Bay Area locations, the campus also includes a parking garage.

Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) will occupy a new build-to-suit facility in Prince George's County, financed for $25-million by commercial real estate investment firm John B. Levy & Co.  Located in New Carrollton across from the IRS headquarters, the Metroview/CSC building is currently under construction and will house CSC's 325,000-sf office. The facility is being developed by Berman Enterprises. CSC was recently awarded a long-term computer system modernization contract by the IRS.  

Sun Microsystems Inc. has selected architect Bottom Duvivier and project manager Kaplan McLauglin Diaz to complete Phase III of its Newark campus expansion. Six two- and three-story office buildings will be constructed by DPR Construction of San Jose. The project began in September of 2000 and is slated for completion in June of 2002.