Higher Education

The University of California, Berkeley, has issued an RFQ for the transformation of 26 acres at its University Village in Albany to a $100-million, mixed-use residential and retail campus. The University hopes to begin construction by early 2003 at the site, where currently student and faculty housing, a community center, baseball fields, and university agricultural research space are located. The selected developer will be asked to improve the community center and baseball fields, build a child and infant care center, and protect as open space two creeks running through the site.

Emory University has two buildings under construction that incorporate an innovative water recycling program. The system is designed to capture air-conditioning condensate for reuse by the cooling tower that provides air conditioning for a 325,000-sf medical research facility and a 268,000-sf cancer research institute. The $30,000 system will generate more than 2 million gallons a year of the 10- to 12 million gallons required by the tower. The system is expected to save water usage and sewer fees in the next three years that will cover its initial costs.

Saginaw Valley State University broke ground in October on a $30-million Regional Education Center. The 130,000-sf facility will serve the University’s faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and K-12 educators and scholars. The Center houses 24 classrooms, two computer labs, a 250-seat capacity multi-media auditorium, 65 faculty offices, a student lounge, cyber café, and study areas. HarleyEllis, of Detroit, Mich., provided architecture, engineering, and planning services for the project. Spence Brothers of Saginaw, Mich., is the Construction Manager.

The University of Texas System is in the planning  process to build The Sam and Ann Barshop Center for Longevity and Aging Studies at UT’s Health Science Center in San Antonio. The research facility will study the relationship between genes and aging. Fast-track construction of the $20-million, two-story, 48,000-sf structure is scheduled to begin in July 2002, with December 2003 the targeted completion date. The architect for the project is Overland Partners of San Antonio.

The University of Georgia is building an academic achievement center for athletes. The $7.2-million project will accommodate academic counselor offices, study rooms, tutoring rooms, computer labs. Beers Construction Co. is handling the project.

A new Fairfax County bioinformatics incubator opening in January 2002 will house the Medical Campus of North Virgina Community College as well as offices for Inova Fairfax Hospital. Located near the Franconia-Springfield Metro station, the incubator is projected to eventually become a full-fledged medical research campus. Holding up to eight companies, the incubator includes 8,500-sf of office space and will cost $1.5 million over three years to operate.

Northeastern University has opened the doors of the Molecular Biology Institute, a biotech incubator to focus on applied neuropharmacogenomics. The university has also launched a fund-raising campaign for construction of a new DNA mircroarray facility.

Santa Clara University is planning a three-story, 82,000-sf facility as the new home of the Leavey School of Business. Funded by a $15 million pledge, the new building will house the science, technology and society center, several conference rooms, and will consolidate all MBA and executive curriculum business classrooms.

The University of Califonia's government studies externship program has now occupied its new 176,270-sf Washington facility. The 11-story, $30-million dollar building was designed by architect Einhorn Yaffee Prescott and houses dormitory space for 300 students, classrooms and office space. Managing the project was Mark G. Anderson Consultants with Tompkins as general contractor and Clark performing foundation work.

The Central Institute for the Deaf, an institution combining oral education for deaf children, scientific research, clinical services, and graduate education, has expanded their urban St. Louis campus. The new two-story, 42,000-sf classroom building resembles the original 1928 Mediterranean-style building. The school has a full-sized gym, family center, music, art and discovery rooms, and a library/computer lab suite. Each classroom meets rigid acoustical requirements for background noise.

Florida State University (FSU) has selected HOK Florida to design the expansion and renovation of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. The Ringling Museum is the largest university museum in the nation. The proposed $44 million project will expand the complex to include a new Visitor Center and Interactive Art Education Facility. An adjunct to the existing Museum will include new art exhibiition galleries as well as a new Art Collection, Library and Archives Facility.

Ground was recently broken on the Koret Comparative Genomics Laboratory at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Made possible by a $1 million Koret Foundation grant, the lab is slated to open in 2002. Research subjects will inlcude genetically related pet disorders such as canine heart problems and feline cancers, eye disorders and head defects.

The Center for Applied Genetic Technologies has opened its doors at the University of Georgia. The $28 million, 40,000-sf facility will accommodate animal and plant science researchers and includes a 20,000-sf biotech incubator, the Georgia BioBusiness Center.

San Francisco State University is expanding in the East Bay, leasing 29,676-sf for its Oakland Multimedia Center. The facility will host multimedia training classes in the evenings and will serve as a conference center by day.

Clark University of Worchester has selected Waltham-based Genesis Planners and Builders to build a 30,000-sf field house at Granger Field. The facility will house locker rooms, training facilities and 16,000 sf of multi-purpose practice space for recreational sports and Clark's outdoor athletic teams. Chan Krieger & Associates of Cambridge, Geller Sport of Boston and Delphi Construction of Waltham are working with Genesis on the project.