Industry News

Highland Hospital is planning a $431 million project to replace facilities in Oakland, Calif. The design-build project will be completed in three phases over seven years. The first phase is comprised of a three-story, 78,000-sf medical office building. The second phase includes construction of a nine-story, 169-bed acute care tower. Phase three will involve demolition of Highland’s existing tower and creation of a courtyard and connecting structures.

Van Andel Institute celebrated the opening of its $175 million Phase II Expansion in Grand Rapids, Mich., in early December of 2009. Designed by Rafael Viñoly, the 242,000-sf medical research and education facility is comprised of eight floors of labs and offices supporting basic and translational research. The sustainably-designed facility was built by a joint venture of Owen-Ames-Kimball Company and The Hunt Construction Group.

Ground was broken in December of 2009 on the Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC) in Boston. Operated in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the facility will be the first in the nation capable of testing blades up to 90 meters long. The research and development center will support testing of commercial wind turbine blades to improve design and reduce cost. The project is supported by $25 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as well as $28.5 million in additional funding.

M. D. Anderson Banner Cancer Center officially broke ground in December of 2009 on a 120,000-sf outpatient cancer facility in Gilbert, Ariz. The $107 million project is slated for occupancy in fall of 2011.

Eastern Illinois University broke ground on a biomass-fueled energy plant in Charleston in November of 2009. Reducing the university’s consumption of electricity by 6.2 million kilowatt hours annually and reducing output of carbon dioxide by 20,000 metric tons each year, the $55 million project is being constructed by Honeywell International. The plant will begin operations in fall of 2011.