Higher Education

Cornell University broke ground on the $80 million New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center in Ithaca in May of 2008. Slated for completion in late summer of 2010, the 126,000-gsf facility will house over 200 researchers, consolidating operations currently dispersed in 12 locations. The three-story building will house BSL-2 and BSL-3 labs, diagnostic labs, wet labs, and a state-of-the-art necropsy facility able to accommodate large animals.

Fort Valley State University will initiate construction in July of 2008 on a $3.1 million biotechnology center in Fort Valley, Ga.  Housing four labs and a 100-seat lecture hall, the 8,000-sf facility is slated for completion by June of 2009. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and will connect to the Stallworth Agricultural Research Station. Additionally, a $20 million, 59,000-sf science center will house classrooms and labs enriched with leading edge technology and is slated for completion in fall of 2009.

Texas A&M University at Galveston broke ground in May of 2008 on the 100,000-sf Science Complex on its Mitchell campus on Pelican Island. Construction will begin in summer of 2008 on the $53.2 million teaching and research complex; completion is slated for 2010. The facility will be comprised of a laboratory wing for marine biology and engineering research and an instructional wing housing classrooms, undergraduate teaching laboratories, and faculty offices.

The University of Chicago will begin building the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library in Chicago in summer of 2008. Designed by architectural firm Murphy/Jahn, the partially underground facility will feature a glass dome and storage for the University’s entire 3.5 million volume collection. Slated for occupancy in the fall of 2010, the library will include a state-of-the-art conservation and preservation facility; a special collections service area; a high-density, automated shelving system; and a grand reading room.

The University of Louisville is constructing the 150,000-sf Clinical and Translational Research Building on its Health Sciences Campus in downtown Louisville, Ky. The $143.1 million facility broke ground in February of 2006 and is slated for completion in June of 2009. Designed by Arrasmith, Judd, Rapp, Chovan of Louisville and SmithGroup of Detroit, the project is being built by Messer Construction of Cincinnati.

The University of Minnesota is developing a $292 million biomedical research park in Minneapolis. The project includes the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, slated for completion in summer of 2010; the Cancer Biomedical Research and the Lillehei Biomedical Research buildings, to be completed in 2012; and the Infectious Disease and Neuroscience Biomedical Research Building, slated for completion in 2013.

The University of Virginia dedicated the McIntire School of Commerce in Charlottesville in May of 2008. Construction manager Gilbane Building Company partnered with architect Hartman-Cox on the 138,000-sf construction/renovation project which included a 114,000-sf addition to Rouss Hall named Robertson Hall. Rouss was also renovated and consolidated with the new addition to form a single building to accommodate the McIntire School of Commerce.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University will open the $200 million Michael F. Price Center for Genetic and Translational Medicine on its Bronx campus in New York in June of 2008. The 201,000-sf, five-story facility is located in the Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion and houses 40 laboratories, research support space, and a 100-seat auditorium.

Paris Sorbonne University is developing a campus on a greenfield site on Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. The Al Habtoor Leighton Group, in joint venture with Murray and Roberts, has been awarded a $350 million contract to design and construct the project for Mubadala Development Company. A 93,000-sm academic building is slated for completion in August of 2010 and will house two lecture wings, a library, an auditorium, administration, and dining.

The University of New England celebrated the groundbreaking of Peter and Cecile Morgane Hall in Biddeford, Maine, on May 9, 2008. The academic facility will house undergraduate classrooms and teaching labs for biology and chemistry. Occupancy is slated for the spring semester of 2009.

Whitworth University will begin construction in late spring of 2009 on a $37 million science center in Spokane, Wash. The three-story, 63,000-sf facility will house labs, classrooms, and offices for the departments of biology and chemistry. Completion is expected by fall of 2010. The facility is part of a $53 million project to upgrade and expand Whitworth’s science facilities. The second phase is comprised of a $16 million, 16,000-sf addition to the existing Johnston Center slated for completion in 2011.

Indiana University Bloomington approved seven construction projects in May of 2008, for a total of 13 capital projects on campus (planned or under way) totaling $340 million. The recently approved projects include:

Butler University broke ground on a $14 million pharmacy and health sciences addition in Indianapolis, Ind., on May 8, 2008. Housing classrooms, project rooms, laboratories, and faculty offices, the 40,000-sf facility is expected to attain LEED Silver certification. Sustainable design elements will include waterless urinals, natural lighting, and heat recovery. The project includes renovation of two pharmacy instructional labs in the existing College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences facility.

The University of California, Berkeley has selected contractor McCarthy to build the $160 million Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences. Accommodating research into the molecular basis for disease, the facility will focus on infectious diseases, gene regulation, stem cell biology, and neurodegenerative diseases. The project architect is Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership. Construction is slated to begin in 2008 and reach completion in 2011.

Florida Atlantic University will break ground in fall of 2008 on a new College of Engineering facility in Boca Raton. Part of a planned 250,000-sf College of Engineering complex, the first phase will house between 80,000-sf and 100,000-sf of classroom, laboratory, computing, and administrative space. The project architect is Schwab, Twitty & Hanser with James A. Cummings Inc. as construction manager. Green Building Services is providing LEED consultation. The facility is expected to reach LEED Platinum certification.