Industry News

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has initiated construction on the 101,000-sf, five-story UAB Research Support Building. Designed by CUH2A of Princeton, N.J, the $18.5 million project will accommodate research labs and offices. The general contractor is Doster Construction. The facility will open in July of 2005.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Support Center has awarded Glendale-based Johnson Controls an $800,000 contract to provide control equipment and energy monitoring at the Pentagon. The contract includes HVAC design and testing, indoor air quality upgrades for the entire Pentagon, and equipment additions and software modifications to air quality control systems. This award follows a $1.13 million contract granted in November 2004 to Johnson Controls for facility work at the Pentagon.

Columbia Sportswear dedicated its new 520,000-sf distribution facility in Robards, Ky., on December 2, 2004. The $40-million facility will employ technologically advanced systems to track over 1,800 cartons per hour. Construction on the distribution center began in fall 2003; the facility will open in January.

Texas Woman's University has awarded Vaughn Construction of Houston a $27.7-million contract to construct its new Houston campus at the Texas Medical Center. Construction is slated to begin on the 10-story, 202,000-sf TWU facility in early 2006. Housing conference and seminar rooms, video conferencing and distance learning facilities, several 120-seat lecture halls, and a 250-seat auditorium, the new campus will more than double the university's enrollment to approximately 3,000 students.

Webster University in St. Louis is planning to invest $15 million to construct two new residence halls. Completion is expected by fall of 2006. The first 64,400-sf freshman dormitory would house 198 beds. The second 35,400-sf upperclassmen dormitory would house 112 beds. The architect for the project is Mackey Mitchell & Associates.