Industry News

Texas A&M University broke ground on the Citrus Center in Weslaco on June 30, 2009. Designed by Kell Munoz of San Antonio, the research facility is slated for completion in summer of 2010. The two-story Citrus Center will house research labs, diagnostic labs, meeting rooms, classrooms, administrative offices, and faculty offices. A large open laboratory will feature tissue culture areas, a cold room, and a mass spectrometer. The facility will support research on citrus fruit growth and production.

Mercy Health Partners is planning to build a $200 million hospital on a 60-acre site in Green Township, Ohio. Slated for occupancy in early 2014, the facility will accommodate between 200 and 250 beds. The new hospital will replace two of Mercy’s existing hospitals, which will be closed.

Dallas-based Capstar Commercial Real Estate Services is building a 770,000-sf data center in Mesquite, Texas. Developed in partnership with Cambray Group of Walnut Creek, Calif., the facility will be one the largest and most advanced data centers in the United States. The facility was designed by project architect RTKL to meet LEED sustainable design criteria. Thornton Tomasetti is providing structural engineering consultation.

Baystate Medical Center is building a $246 million hospital in Springfield, Ma. The 600,000-sf project broke ground in summer of 2008 and is slated for completion in 2012.

SGS North America opened a new 16,500-sf state-of-the-art facility in May in Deer Park, Texas. The Houston office of LCS Constructors used the design-build method of project delivery, and completed the project in nine months. More than 75% of the building is lab space for comprehensive laboratory testing services to support SGS’s regional as well as global customers. The facility handles petroleum, petrochemical and agricultural products, biofuels, LPG, LNG, and other commodities in accordance with ASTM, IP, UOP, ISO, and EN methods.