Higher Education

San Diego State University is planning the Paseo, a mixed-use redevelopment of the campus's southeastern corner. Comprised of street-level retail and upper-floor offices and student/faculty housing, the project will include nine acres of underground parking and a light rail station already under construction. The project is part of the city of San Diego's "City of Villages" concept, which will feature retail and higher-density housing developments that are both pedestrian friendly and transit-oriented.

George Washington University is engaged in a $7.8-million project to upgrade its Foggy Bottom Campus communications network. Over 15,000 faculty, students, and administrators will use the network, which will be accompanied by the university's implementations of Internet telephony services, making the network accessible via desktop or laptop computers.

Georgetown University is developing the $168-million, three-building Southwest Quadrangle complex which began construction in September 2000. Slated for completion in spring of 2003, the project features a 1,200-seat dining hall, a 780-bed dormitory, an 815-car underground parking garage, and a chapel. General contractor for the project is Clark Construction.

Trinity College in Washington, D.C. is building the $20-million Trinity Center for Women and Girls in Sports.  Developed by Forrester Construction, the 58,000-sf sports complex consists of a fitness center, NCAA six-lane regulation swimming pool, six tennis courts, an indoor track, and a basketball arena seating 1,600 for games and 2,500 for nonsporting events. Soccer, field hockey and lacrosse fields will be located next to the center. Construction on the center began in November 2000 and is slated for completion in November 2002.

Emory University will house the new Southeastern Center for Emerging Biologic Threats, a collaboration of state and federal agencies and top researchers working together to combat bioterrorism. Partners in the center include Emory University's Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center, the Medical College of Georgia, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Tech, and the University of Georgia. Participating governmental agencies include the U.S.

Middlebury College of Vermont is building a new 143,000-sf library featuring environmentally-friendly and locally produced materials. Lee Kennedy Co. of Boston provided pre-construction services, now complete, for the project and has now initiated construction. Architects Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects LLC designed the library.

Catholic University of America is building the $26.5 million Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center, a three-story, 102,000-sf, T-shaped structure dubbed the “living room of the university." Housing a bookstore, student center, ballroom, six meeting rooms, campus offices, and a convenience store, the facility is being built by Clark Construction of Bethesda, Md. Construction began in October 2001 and is slated for completion in January 2003. The center will unite the existing three dining rooms on campus into one facility.  

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is involved in a renovation and expansion of the newly acquired Hamilton Building that will add 300,000 sf of studio and gallery space. The project will allow the Academy, the oldest art school in the country, to consolidate its museum and create a single campus. Located across the street from the Academy, the Hamilton building will allow a 400-student total enrollment and is slated for completion in fall 2003.

The University of Maryland is building the $130-million Comcast Center, a 17,000-seat basketball arena facility including a gymnasium, athletic training facilities, administrative offices, and a student athlete academic and career development center. Construction began in July of 2000 and is slated for completion in fall of 2002. Construction management is being provided by a partnership of Gilbane and Smoot Construction.

George Mason University is building the $14.5-million Academic IV. The four-story classroom building will accommodate a total of 560 students in two lecture halls and two classrooms. Developed by Costello Construction of Columbia, the project is expected to reach completion by the end of January 2003. George Mason is also building the $24.9-million Liberty Square student housing development, a 500-bed project constructed by Dustin Construction of Gaithersburg, Md. Construction began in November 2001 and will be completed in fall of 2003.   

The University of California San Diego's $110-million Eleanor Roosevelt College, comprised of 373,033 sf of dormitory, apartment, dining, meeting, and common area space, is slated for completion in fall of 2003. Construction began on the project in November 2000.

Chula Vista's Southwestern College is developing the $22-million Education Village with San Diego State University where the schools will share classroom space. In Otay Mesa, Southwestern and Sweetwater Union High School are planning Project Synergy, a $123-million, 305,900-sf classroom and office facility. The first phase of construction is slated to start in September 2003 and reach completion in early summer of 2005. A new Sweetwater district high school will open adjacent to the facility the following autumn.

San Diego State University is working with the Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) to build an underground trolley station. A 5.9-mile extension tunnel from Mission Valley to La Mesa is included in the $435-million project, which is being funded by MTDB. The cost of the under-campus station and tunnel is $84.3 million. Developed by Clark Construction Group of Bethesda, the tunnel has been under construction since June of 2001 and is approximately halfway completed. Construction of the trolley station is ongoing.  

The University of California, San Diego has selected Gilbane Co. of Phoenix as general contractor and construction manager for the $102.5-million California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology project, Cal-(IT)2. The 215,000-sf research facility is slated to begin construction in January and reach completion in two years.  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning to expand its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Eastern hub at North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus. The expansion will be housed in Venture Center IV, the final building master planned for Venture Center. Developed by Craig Davis Properties, the five-story, $125-million facility will begin construction this year with occupancy in late 2003. Venture IV will contain 110,000 nsf of rentable space.