California-based tech giant Cisco Systems has planned 13 buildings in Boxborough and Littleton totalling 1.5 million sf and is seeking approval to develop 500,000 sf in three additional buildings for a total of 2 million sf. At the Boxborough office campus, the network switching and routing company's "second home" in Massachusetts, only a small portion of the currently unoccupied 10-building campus has been built.
Nitronex, a manufacturer of semiconductor chips that increase speed and capacity for wireless applications, recently occupied a new 69,000-sf office/laboratory at the Lincoln Park West business park. The company employs 55 people.
Cisco Systems’ planned 10-building, 1.5-million-sf office campus in Boxborough may be enlarged by half again as much if approvals from state and town agencies are granted. An additional 500,000 sf in three buildings would be added to the Boxborough site, where three structures are half built, and four more have already been approved. The San Jose, Calif.-based company hopes to consolidate several of its Massachusetts facilities at the Boxborough site. Move-in is anticipated in mid-2003 at the earliest.
Oepic Inc. has begun constructing the initial 4,000 sf of what will be a new 12,000-sf cleanroom for manufacturing semiconductors that will speed fiber-optic communications. Technical Builders Inc. of San Jose, Calif., is handling the $5-million project. At completion, the cleanroom will house an additional $20 million in equipment.
Austin Community College has a simulated semiconductor fabrication facility under construction. The goal of the mock fab is to train semiconductor technicians as well as draw semiconductor companies in need of trained workers to the Austin area. The $250,000 facility, which can accommodate 12 students, will have a gowning room, an air shower, a cleanroom, and a gray room for equipment. Construction of the 1,350-sf simulated fab started in June 2001.
TriQuint Semiconductor Inc., based in Hillsboro, Ore., has plans to add a three-story office and manufacturing building at its 36-acre campus in Richardson. The 124,000-sf facility will accommodate up to 1,000 employees. TriQuent purchased a 420,000-sf building at the site last year. With new building, the campus will provide a total of 544,000 sf.
SPX, a Michigan company producing technical products and systems, has selected Balantine Corporate Park in Charlotte as the site of their new 100,000-sf office headquarters. Washington, D.C.-based Hickok Warner Fox will design the interior of the building, which will be constructed by Bissell Development. Completion is anticipated in April 2002, at which time at least 50 employees will move in.
Techplace @ 2 St., a new $1.5 million technology incubator located in a renovated former factory, is open in Philadelphia. A nonprofit group, Citizens Alliance, purchased the building, and has been rehabilitating it over the past two years. The facility will feature a cybercafe; a conference center for use by tenants, with Microsoft and Compaq Computer equipment; and adjacent parking. The grand opening is scheduled for December 2001.
ADIC (Advanced Digital Information Corporation) plans to expand at Compark Business Park with a 148,204-sf facility that will provide 80,000 sf of office space and 68,000 sf of hi-tech manufacturing/warehouse space. The structure, originally a speculative project; was modified by Grubb & Ellis to fit ADIC’s specific requirements. ADIC expects to relocate by the end of 2001, and will use the building for manufacturing, R&D, test and systems engineering labs, customer service and support, and training activities.
Amberwave Systems’ new fabrication facility in Salem has been completed. The structure comprises a 6,000-sf cleanroom manufacturing space and 25,000-sf base building and office space. Plymouth, Mass.-based Lloyd Architects designed the building. General construction services were provided by Hodess Building Co. of North Attleboro, Mass. Staughton, Mass.-based Am Tech Engineers Inc. designed the mechanical systems.
RF Micro Devices Inc., based in Greensboro, plans to upgrade its clean-room manufacturing space. The two-year, $58-million project will also provide new semiconductor manufacturing equipment for its partner, Agere Systems Inc., in Orlando, Fl., to produce high-performance chips for communications products. RF Micro will also build a facility in Beijing to test and finish chips for the Chinese market.
Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC), based in San Diego, has plans for a three-building, 521,000-sf manufacturing facility in nearby Poway. The 31-acre site at South Poway Business Park will accommodate one 90,000-sf structure, one 120,000-sf structure, and one 311,000-sf structure. The initial phase of construction is expected to take two years. AMCC manufactures optical networking products.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is scouting cities in central Texas for 200 acres on which to locate a proposed 300 mm chip fabrication plant. Cities under consideration include Austin, San Marcos, Buda, and Round Rock. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2004 at an estimated cost of $4 billion. Austin is home to AMD's existing 200mm fab.
Tivoli Systems Inc. will consolidate its headquarters and scattered Austin-area offices at a new one million-sf campus adjacent to the local office of its parent company, IBM Corp. The two-phase project broke ground in November 2000 with a 200,000-sf structure to accommodate 700 employees. Phase two construction will include three additional buildings of the same approximate size, one housing a cafeteria. HOK Architects designed the campus. Engineering was provided by Bury+Partners Inc. The landscaping was done by Verdoorn Landscape Architects Inc.
Jusung America Inc., a Korean semiconductor equipment manufacturer with a US headquarters in Austin, is considering the construction of a 50,000-sf manufacturing and office facility to accommodate 300 people. A 20-acre site near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is under consideration. It is anticipated that construction would take two years and cost tens of millions of dollars. The company is a subsidiary ofJusung Engineering Co. Ltd. of Korea.
