Higher Education

The University of Washington broke ground on a new $80 million Law School building in May 2001. Construction of the 196,000-sf, four-story building will begin in September and is slated for completion in summer of 2003. Named the William H. Gates Hall, the facility will include a 10,000-sf reading room with stacks occupying approximately 40,000 sf. The building will also feature a 170-person classroom equipped as a trial court, law clinics, seminar rooms, additional instructional areas, as well as offices for staff, faculty, and graduate students.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is planning to build the new Neuroscience Center, a research complex housing multiple academic departments. The facility will be focussed on understanding the human brain from cellular, molecular, genetic, and behavioral perspectives. MIT has selected architects Goody, Clancy & Associates for the project, with Charles Correa Associates as consulting architect.

The University of Hartford has selected William Wilson Associated Architects Inc. of Boston to design, plan and program its new technology complex. The $30 million facility will house sciences, engineering, technology, and technology services.

Stanford University plans to break ground on a new 225,000-sf biotech facility, the Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and Science. The new $130 million building will house a biotech research program dubbed Bio X which will combine researchers and scientists from over 20 departments, including medicine, engineering,  science, and various biotech and computer subspecialties. Funded by donations from Silicon Graphics for the $10 million core facilities and supercomputer, as well as funding from an anonymous donor, the facility will feature an interdisci

Santa Clara University has received a donation of $20 million, the largest in the school's history. A remodel of the university's library is allotted $15 million; the remainder will provide for scholarships.

A proposed office-classroom development at San Jose State University is being postponed due to an economic crunch. The $380 million, 5.5-acre project  would have included commercial office space and 250,000 sf of adjacent classrooms, laboratories, and staff offices. In an attempt to convert its valuable downtown land into superior staff and student facilities, SJSU would have leased on-campus office space to finance further construction. The university has hired Alameda, Calif., firm SRM Associates as a consultant for the project's future development.

The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill is planning to develop a 1,000-acre site as a satellite campus. The mixed-use development will contain commercial, research and institutional space as well as housing for faculty, staff, and students. Accommodating 25,000 employees and housing up to 3,000, the project will feature additional facilities for research in genomics and bioinformatics.

Washington University is planning to develop its Hilltop campus and School of Medicine with new buildings for education, research and patient care. The $1 billion project includes a $35 million biomedical engineering facility, the Uncas A. Whitaker Hall.

Georgia Tech is planning a new $148 million multibuilding complex. The new Technology Square will house the Dupree College of Management, the University Bookstore, a 250-room hotel and conference center, a parking deck, and 20,000-sf of retail and restaurant space. The facility is still in the design phase and is slated for completion in August 2003. Construction costs for the Dupree College of Management building are estimated at $35 million.

Southern Catholic College has acquired 338 acres in Dawson County. The under-formation regional college will spend $34 million on the first phase of development that will include land purchase, an academic building, a gym, and a dormitory. An estimated total of $300 million will be invested in the campus over the next 20-25 years. Expected to open in fall of 2002, the school will eventually accommodate approximately 3,000 students.

University of Kentucky-Lexington’s new Biomedical/Biological Sciences Research Building is currently in the schematic design phase. The 200,000-sf building is scheduled for occupancy in 2004. HERA of St. Louis, is providing lab planning, programming, and design services for the facility. A.M. Kinney of Cincinnati is the prime architect and engineer, and Philadelphia-based Venturi Scott Brown Associates is the design architect.

The University of Texas is renovating and expanding three buildings at its main campus in Austin. The $40-million project will involve Benedict, Mezes, and Batts halls, linking the structures with new construction and modernizing existing classrooms. The new Austin office of 3D/I is in charge of the project, which is slated for completion in approximately two years.

San Diego Mesa College has awarded Kvaas Constructors, Inc., of San Diego a contract to build a Humanities, Languages & Multicultural Studies Project. The $7.05 million project is estimated to reach completion near the end of 2002.

UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering is building a 5-story, 105,000-sf bioengineering facility at the La Jolla campus. The $34 million Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall will house five labs for researchers and graduate students, one lab per floor, each focused on a specific research area. Ground was broken in August 2000 on the facility, which is expected to open in 2002.

The University of California-San Diego's Thornton Hospital in La Jolla will be in close proximity to the site of a new $87 million cancer center recently approved by U.C. Regents. The center will provide facilities for research labs, community education, and clinical space, as well as a 130-car underground parking garage. Construction is slated to begin in early 2001, with completion estimated for fall of 2003.