Higher Education

Labor rates, material prices and competition in the commercial construction marketplace are combining to make this a great year to put up a building.

Blue Ridge Community College broke ground in May of 2009 on the $7.5 million Advanced Technology Center in Weyers Cave, Va. Slated for completion by spring of 2011, the 20,500-sf facility will house laboratories for instruction in machining, automated manufacturing, electronics, robotics, and R&D.

The University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine opened the Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in May of 2009. Housing advanced facilities to process, culture, and store equine stem cells, the laboratory will also provide stem cell collection kits to veterinarians for harvesting stem cells from blood or bone marrow.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro broke ground on the $47 million School of Education building in May of 2009. The 120,000-sf facility is slated for completion by fall of 2011. The LEED-certified project features a sustainable design that is expected to save 35 percent on energy costs. Housing 19 classrooms, two lecture halls, and a tiered 100-seat classroom, the facility will include collaboration spaces, instructional computer labs, a multimedia lab, and a research support center.

Texas A&M University broke ground on the $62.4 million Agriculture Headquarters building in College Station in May of 2009. The five-story, 166,000-sf facility will house classrooms, labs, and faculty offices for the departments of Agricultural Economics; Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications; and Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences. A two-story visitor center will also be constructed. Completion for both projects is expected in 2011.

The University of Winnipeg is constructing the 155,000-sf Science Complex and Richardson College for the Environment in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Supported by an $18 million federal infrastructure grant, the $59 million project will house advanced research and teaching laboratories, classrooms, and offices. A minimum of LEED Silver certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project. Ground was broken on the project in November of 2008 with completion expected by March of 2011.

Michigan State University is building the $90 million Secchia Center in Grand Rapids. Construction began on the facility in April of 2008 with occupancy expected in fall of 2010. The seven-story, 180,000-sf facility will house MSU’s College of Human Medicine and will include teaching labs, classrooms, offices, and student areas.

Northwestern University is planning to construct a $200 million biomedical research facility for the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Located on the Streeterville campus of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the facility will connect to the existing Lurie Medical Research Center. A medical office tower providing between 500,000 sf and 700,000 sf will also be constructed at the site.

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College broke ground on a $26 million biotechnology education and training facility in Kannapolis, N.C., in May of 2009. Designed by Creech and Associates, the 62,000-sf building is being constructed on the North Carolina Research Campus by developer Castle & Cooke. Occupancy is expected in August of 2010.

The National Science Foundation initiated the Academic Research Infrastructure Program: Recovery and Reinvestment (ARI-R²) in May of 2009. The ARI-R² program will invest in the repair, renovation, or in exceptional cases, the replacement of existing research facilities. It will not support the construction of new research facilities.

Northern Kentucky University is planning to construct the $50.8 million Center for Informatics in Highland Heights. Slated for completion in July of 2010, the 110,000-gsf project will feature a transparent two-story digitorium. Providing 75,000-asf, the Center for Informatics will house flexible research space, classrooms, teaching labs, performance studios, a commons area, and a café. The construction cost of the facility is $40 million.

South Dakota State University dedicated the $7.5 million Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building in Brookings in May of 2009. Housing classrooms, laboratories, study rooms, and faculty offices for the College of Engineering, the 43,052-gsf instructional facility features a micro- and nano-electronics cleanroom. The top level of the four-story building provides R&D space for industry partners. Construction began on the project in mid-2007.

Clarkson University broke ground on a $25 million student center in Potsdam, N.Y., in May of 2009. Designed by Perkins and Will of Boston, the three-story, 56,000-sf facility will house an amphitheater atrium, conference rooms, a café, and student organization space. Completion is slated for August of 2010. Promoting the integration of living and learning, the sustainably-designed building will feature transparent and moveable walls for maximum flexibility.

Auckland University is planning a $240 million expansion and renovation of its medical and health science campus in Grafton, New Zealand. Construction will begin in late 2009 on a new four-story building housing lecture halls and a large atrium. Occupancy is expected by year-end 2011. A renovation of three existing facilities is expected to reach completion by early 2013.

Mesalands Community College will begin construction in November of 2009 on the $7 million North American Wind Research and Training Center in Tucumari, N.M. The 26,385-sf facility was designed by Kilmer and Associates of Clovis and is slated for completion in December of 2010. The project will be comprised of a 12,697-sf wind turbine workshop and a 13,688-sf facility housing classrooms, labs, offices, and a lecture hall.