Higher Education

Austin Community College (ACC) broke ground in April on its new 146,000-sf Health Careers Building. The $29-million health sciences center will be located at ACC’s Eastview campus in East Austin and will house up to 600 students. The facility will be built in two phases. Phase One, with a budget of $17.2 million, will provide 89,000 sf of lab, classroom and office space for nursing, surgical technology, radiology and dental hygiene programs. Completion of Phase One is anticipated in fall of 2003.

The University of Texas Medical Branch is establishing a Galveston telehealth research center slated to open in late April. The SBC Foundation, part of SBC Communications, awarded the medical complex a $1-million donation. The facility is the first of its kind in the nation.

The University of San Diego  is nearing completion of the reinforcing steel work for the new Center for Science and Technology, performed by San Diego-based Pacific Coast Steel Inc. Three million pounds of rebar are required for the 150,000-sf, $47-million facility.

The University of California San Diego is planning to build new facilities for the School of Medicine totalling 300,000 sf. Ninyo and Moore of San Diego will provide special inspection services and materials testing during construction of the $20-million project.

San Diego State University has contracted San Diego-based Ninyo & Moore to perform a geotechnical design evaluation of its proposed environmental laboratory. The $3-million, 48,000-sf facility will be built on the site of the former Naval Training Center.

Meredith College, a four-year private women's college, has selected Boston-based Shepley Richardson and Abbott to develop a master plan for its Raleigh campus.

The University of Phoenix, a subsidiary of Phoenix-based Apollo Group Inc., will relocate its Atlanta campus to a permanent North Fulton County location on April 19th. The new 26,000-sf facility is comprised of 16 classrooms, each accommodating 25 students. The school holds classes in the evenings Monday through Thursday. 

Goucher College of Towson, Md., has completed construction of a new 21,000-sf residence hall, as well as expansion and renovation and of the 74,350-sf Heubeck Hall. Both projects were designed and built by the Boston offices of Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architecture & Engineering.

Washington University's Small Group Housing project was recently completed by McCarthy. The $44-million fast track project, designed by architect Mackey Mitchell Associates of St. Louis, totals 218,000 sf in four separate buildings. Included in the structures are 440 beds, dining and food service facilities for 600, classroom areas and a great hall containing extensive millwork. Construction was completed in 14 months.

Having received approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Suffolk University will begin building a new 386-bed dormitory adjacent to its Beacon Hill campus in late spring of 2002. 

Brown University of Rhode Island selected Hopkinton, Mass.-based Gorman Richardson Architects to design several projects on the school's Bio-Medical Campus.

The University of California-Davis is building the new Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, a $60.9-million facility named in honor of the Napa Valley vintner who targeted $10 million for the center. State-of-the-art technology and acoustics are built into the 1,800-seat performance hall and 250-seat studio theater. Portland, Ore.-based BOORA Architects designed the 104,000-sf center, which is scheduled to open in October 2002.

Rowan University is in the planning stage of developing the new South Jersey Technology Park. The park will include a technology incubator as well as a major research center to build on the University's extensive research capabilities. Costing between $10-million and $20-million to build, the facility is expected to open in the next 18 months to 2 years.

Rutgers University School of Business is planning the new Rutgers-Camden High-Tech Business Incubator/Commercialization Center. The "virtual incubator", under the auspices of the William G. Rohrer Center for Management and Entrepreneurship, will provide computer services, high-speed Internet access, conference space, and telephone assistance to fledgling technology companies. The incubator is being developed and funded by a $435,000 contract with the Delaware River Port Authority.

The University of Texas at San Antonio recently broke ground on the new Institute for Economic Development headquarters in downtown San Antonio. Designed by Ford, Powell & Carson Architects & Planners, the 33,000-sf facility will house the Institute's 90 employees. Funding for the $6.4-million facility was completed by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration's award of $1.75 million to the University. Tuition revenue bonds will cover the balance of the funds.