Higher Education

San Jose City College is building the 80,000-sf Tech Center. The five-story classroom facility will offer career courses in computer technology, business, and dental and emergency medical technologies. Designed by BFGC Architects of Oakland, Calif., the center will house the Institute for Business Performance and a 200-seat conference center. The project is one of five buildings planned as part of the community college's five-year capital development program and is being built by Barry Swenson.

The University of Georgia Athletic Association opened the Rankin M. Smith Sr. Student Athlete Academic Center on October 12. The $6.7-million, 31,000-sf center houses a multimedia classroom, computer labs, writing center, tutoring rooms, counselor's office and a 250-seat lecture and meeting hall.

The Advanced Technology Center (ATC) at KellyUSA, part of the Alamo Community College District's Information Technology and Security Academy, houses 23,000-sf of classroom and computer lab facilities for training students in the aerospace and information technology industries.

The University of Georgia is planning to build a $10-million, 33,000-sf commercial pharmaceutical manufacturing facility at the University's Riverbend Research Village in Athens. Designed by Lockwood Green of Spartanburg, S.C., the project's construction will be managed by Atkins Hanscomb Faithful & Gould of Atlanta. The building will include research labs, classrooms, offices, and bioprocessing and manufacturing space for solid oral dosage medicines. The project is slated for groundbreaking in May 2003.

The University of Texas at San Antonio has leased 8,000 sf in Brooks Building 175 at Brooks Air Force Base to house a vaccine research training facility. Preparing molecular biologists, fermentation technicians, and genetic engineers to conduct vaccine-related research, the facility is slated to open by fall of 2003. The training center will accommodate both UTSA and military graduate and undergraduate students. City officials hope that the training facility will cause San Antonio to be chosen as the site of a proposed $1.5-billion national vaccine center.

Suffolk University is building a new dormitory in Boston's urban Beacon Hill area. Designed by Cannon Design, the facility will be constructed on an 8,700-sf former parking lot and will stand 19 stories above ground with two stories below ground. The west side of the structure will feature a glass curtainwall.

The University of California at San Francisco will complete the $22-million Genentech Hall next month. The hall is the first facility of the planned 20-building, 43-acre Mission Bay campus encompassing  2,650,000 sf of instructional, support, and biomedical lab facilities. Part of Catellus Development Corp.'s massive 303-acre project, the facility is ready for support staff occupancy as early as October and will see equipment moved in through the end of the year.

Emory University in Atlanta recently opened the Mathematics and Science Center, a $40-million, 138,000-sf facility featuring almost 33,000-sf of laboratory space. The project features a planetarium and a 180,000-sf auditorium. The center incorporates elements of sustainable design including use of natural light and rainwater harvesting.

North Carolina State University is planning a $35-million bioprocessing training facility on its Centennial Campus. The biotechnology manufacturing facility is part of a work-force training initiative aimed to develop the state's bioprocessing industry.  Additionally, UNC Hospitals is planning to build a $140-million cancer tower.

The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is constructing the 123,000-sf School of Public Health. The $39-million project, designed by Anshen & Allen Architects, is slated for completion in May of 2005. Contractor for the project is TA Loving, with engineering services provided by Stewart Engineering Inc.

Amherst College has selected Payette Associates of Boston to design a new 60,000-sf combined Geology Building and Natural History Museum. Sited on campus to initiate a redefinition of a major campus space, the facility will include state of the art teaching labs for both introductory and advanced instruction in the geological sciences. Students in these disciplines will have access to their own specialized research spaces, map rooms, a library, and a multidisciplinary GIS lab.

San Diego State University (SDSU) has completed the $14-million Fraternity Row. Designed by San Diego architectural firm M.W. Steele Group Inc., the development consists of a 62-unit apartment complex and eight fraternity houses. Taylor Frager Inc. was the contractor for the project, which opened in time for SDSU's fall classes. Part of the $500-million College Community Redevelopment Project, Fraternity Row was funded by the SDSU Foundation.

The University of California, Irvine has completed work on the Natural Science Unit I, a four-story, 119,000-sf facility housing laboratory, office, and classroom space for the School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Chemistry. The $54-million design/build facility will open in time for the first quarter of the school year. The building is split into two wings - a laboratory wing and a classroom/office wing. The lab wing is further divided into two large suites in order to promote research interaction among the various scientists.

San Mateo County will invest $207 million to upgrade three community college campuses over the next five years. The College of San Mateo will house a new $21-million Science Center designed by tBP Architecture of Concord, Calif. Noll & Tam of Oakland, Calif., will design Canada College's $17-million Library Center. The new $16-million Student and Community Center, designed by KMD of San Francisco, will be built on the Skyline College campus.

The University of Kansas is planning to build a second building on the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. Designed by architect Gould Evans Goodman Associates of Overland Park, the facility will house offices, traditional classrooms, tiered high technology classrooms, computer labs, an executive-style boardroom, administrative and faculty offices, a lobby, and a cylindrical 240-seat auditorium. Slated for completion in April of 2004, the project's budget is $17,800,000 with a $14,850,000 construction contract.