Research and Development

QualTex Laboratories opened a $5.8 million blood and plasma products testing lab in late 2010 in Norcross, Georgia. The Atlanta design/build team of Lord, Aeck & Sargent and DPR Construction completed the project in 13 months. The single-story, 57,000-sf facility includes 15,500 sf of laboratory space for sample processing, testing, quality assurance, and cold storage. Designed to optimize workflow efficiency and flexibility, the project features mobile casework and overhead service panels.

EMD Serono opened a $75 million pharmaceutical research and production facility in February of 2011. Located in Billerica, Mass., the 140,000-sf facility includes laboratories for chemistry, screening, biology, and cell culture. Construction began on the project in fall of 2008. The project represents an expansion of the company’s existing campus and includes offices, conference rooms, and an auditorium. Housing 200 researchers, the facility was designed by Ellenzweig with Jones Lang LaSalle as construction manager.

GlaxoSmithKline will build a 205,000-sf facility in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The four-story building will be developed by Liberty Property Trust and Synterra Partners and is expected to achieve LEED Platinum sustainable design certification. Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) is providing design services for the $81 million project. Site work will begin in March of 2011 with construction commencing in summer of 2011. Completion is expected by early 2013.

Philips Lumileds will begin construction in March of 2011 on a new R&D facility in Penang, Malaysia. Located on a 12-acre site in Bayan Lepas, the building will support product development for light emitting diode technologies. The project will include a cleanroom manufacturing facility, a design center, and space for Philips’ Global Customer Quality and Finance Team. The building will feature 100 percent LED lighting. Completion is expected in mid-2012.

The University of South Alabama is planning to construct a microbiology research building in Mobile. The facility will provide BSL-2 and BSL-3 research laboratories for the study of select agents and pathogens. The construction manager for the project is SA Group. Occupancy is expected in 2013.

United States Biological Corporation will build an 81,000-sf headquarters, research, and manufacturing facility in Salem, Mass. Located in the Salem Industrial Park, the project will provide space for protein manufacturing and production of in-vitro diagnostic tools. US Biological is a maker of biochemicals, antibodies, recombinant proteins, cell culture media, and molecular biology kits used in research, healthcare, and pharmaceutical development.

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) is building the $76.4 million Clinical and Translational Science Building in Rochester, N.Y. The 200,000-sf project broke ground in October of 2008 with occupancy expected in May of 2011. The interdisciplinary facility will house labs, offices, and classrooms for biomedical research and teaching. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

The University of Houston is building the $70 million Health and Biomedical Sciences Center next to the J. Armistead College of Optometry. The six-story, 165,000-sf building will house research labs, animal facilities, a laser center, outpatient clinics, an ambulatory surgery center, classrooms, and offices. The project will enable researchers from the NIH-funded Complex Systems Supercluster to collaborate on biomedical discoveries. Completion is expected by fall of 2012.

Macquarie University will build the $108 million Australian Hearing Hub in Sydney. The medical research, teaching, and training facility will house the Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre, the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, and the Shepherd Centre. The building will support research and treatment for hearing and speech-related disorders.

The Medical Center of the Americas is in the design stage in El Paso, Texas. Created by a consortium of academic and industry partners including the University of Texas and Texas Tech, the planned 140-acre biomedical research complex will support commercialization of pharmaceutical therapies. The first phase of the project will include construction of an 80,000-sf facility on 10 acres in central El Paso. A subsequent phase of construction will deliver two additional buildings at the site.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is planning to build a $22 million biomanufacturing facility in Fall River, Mass. The building will be the first facility in a proposed 300-acre biotechnology park.

Composites Horizons Inc. (CHI) is expanding its manufacturing operations in Covina, Calif. CHI currently occupies two buildings at the site and will renovate a third 41,000-sf facility. The completed project will include a 2,300-sf polyimide cleanroom. Composites Horizons is part of the Aerostructures & Composites division of U.K.-based Hampson Group.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched a new competition for grants in January of 2011 to support the construction of new or expanded scientific research facilities at institutions of higher education and nonprofit scientific research organizations. Through the NIST Construction Grant Program (NCGP), the agency expects $20 million to be available for grants ranging from $5 to $10 million over a period of no more than five years.

The University of California San Francisco Medical Center initiated construction on an 878,000-sf hospital complex in January of 2011. Located in the Mission Bay development, the project will be built to attain LEED Gold sustainable design certification and will feature advanced building systems and technologies. The first phase of construction comprises a 289-bed hospital housing women’s services, pediatric care, and cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Merck will renovate the former Schering-Plough headquarters in Kenilworth, N.J., to create a biologics research facility. The $120 million project will include 100,000 sf of new construction and will house 350 relocated employees. The facility will provide research space for the discovery of biological pharmaceutical products.