Higher Education

Liberty Science Center is planning a comprehensive renovation, renewal, and expansion of its Jersey City, N.J., facility. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2005 with re-opening slated for early 2007. The project will allow more efficient use of existing interior spaces and the addition of a wing to be located on the northwest side of the building adjacent to the parking lot and a four-story glass atrium on the south side facing Liberty State Park and the Statue of Liberty.

Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., will develop the Center for Bioengineering & Computational Biology with a $1.6-million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Creating new research laboratories and a bioengineering teaching laboratory, the facility will feature an online system by which participants can view results from experiments conducted in the center over the Internet.

The University of California, San Francisco will invest over $500 million on capital projects at its Parnassus campus over the next five years. Planned new construction or renovations include:

The University of North Carolina has broken ground on the new Science Complex at its Chapel Hill campus. Designed by William Wilson Associated Architects of Boston, the center is the largest construction project ever undertaken on campus. Phase 1 of the Science Complex begins with two buildings totaling $7.9 million. The Physics/Marine Science building includes three large lecture halls, an astronomy deck, two floors of marine science, and two floors of physics.

Oregon State University is nearing completion of the $20-million Dixon Recreation Center expansion project in Corvallis, Ore. Designed by Yost Grube Hall of Portland, the expansion has created  60,000 sf of space housing a three-court basketball gymnasium with a suspended running track, two cardio-fitness rooms, two weight rooms, multipurpose rooms and classrooms, an outdoor center, a climbing center, lounges, dining, and locker rooms. The facility is one of the first on campus to integrate sustainable design, using recycled materials and natural light and ventilation systems.

The Albany Academy for Girls dedicated its new $3-million, 23,000-sf athletic facility in Albany, N.Y., on May 14, 2004. The facility is named after David B. Silipigno, the founder of the now defunct National Finance Corp., who donated $775,000 for the facility’s construction.

St. Charles Community College has selected Paric Corp. to develop Phase Four of the Cottleville, Mo., campus building project. Designed by Louis R. Saur & Associates, the project includes classrooms and labs, an enhanced learning center, a bookstore and café, a lecture/performance area, offices, and art studios. Funded by a $23-million bond issue, the project will commence construction in summer of 2005 with completion targeted for January 2007. St. Charles Community College currently accommodates 4,000 full-time students.

Portland Community College is building the 46,000-sf Technology Classroom Building on its Sylvania, Ore., campus. Slated to open in fall 2004, the $8-million facility will house space for eleven classrooms, computer labs, software engineering, information technology programs, recording studios, media production facilities, faculty offices, and the district center for the Distance Education program. Designed by Opsis Architecture of Portland and built by Skanska USA, the facility incorporates sustainable design features to reduce energy use and promote occupant health.

California State University Sacramento has received a gift of over 280 acres in south Placer County, the proposed site for the university’s Placer campus. Groundbreaking on the new campus could occur as early as spring 2006.

The Pennsylvania College of Optometry is planning a new Student Community Center to be constructed at the Elkins Park Campus. Granary Associates of Philadelphia has been selected to provide architecture and interior design services. The Center will house state-of-the-art fitness and recreation facilities and provide a center for student life on campus. It will also serve as a meeting place for continuing education classes and alumni functions.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis opened the first phase of the Hamilton Eye Institute in early May 2004. The project includes ten research laboratories and a technologically advanced administrative suite equipped to provide telemedicine service. The facility will encompass 60,000-sf when it reaches completion in 2005. The final construction phase will create clinical facilities on the second, third, and fourth floors.

A new diagnostic biotech facility will be constructed on 100 acres south of the Texas Medical Center. The $80-million facility will be funded by $25 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund, $25 million each from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center, and $5 million from the University of Texas System.

The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) has completed construction of the Interdisciplinary Research Building (IRB) Phase II, a 94,000-sf expansion project. Designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent of Atlanta, the $27.3-million, five-story project includes a mechanical penthouse and a life sciences incubator for developing biotech business from scientific discoveries. The facility provides research laboratory and office space for the MCG Department of Physiology, the Center for Biology and Genomic Medicine, and the Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development.

North Carolina Central University will receive $200,000 in federal funds toward the construction of the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Training Enterprise facility on the university’s Durham campus.

Wake Forest University’s Babcock Graduate School of Management is planning to open a 30,000-sf campus in Charlotte. The project will be sited in a new development owned by Wachovia Corp. and will include a 1,200-seat performing arts center.