Industry News

Pittsburgh-based Leo Inc. is planning to construct a $383.6 million steel processing plant in Louisville, Ky. Sited on 80 acres, the 600,000-sf facility will convert slabs of steel into coil form for use in manufacturing and other industries. Ground will be broken on the plant in September or October of 2004; MCC Corp . of Beijing will oversee construction. Completion is expected within 24 months. The plant will process 1.5 million tons of steel annually.

First Community Credit Union is constructing a 70,000-sf headquarters facility in Chesterfield , Mo. Designed by TR,i Architects, the $9-million facility will include 40,000 sf of corporate headquarters space and a 5,400-sf retail branch. The project contractor is Brinkmann Constructors. Slated to open in January 2006, the facility represents a significant expansion from the credit union’s previous location in 17,000 sf in Ballwin. 

Johnson Controls, based in Milwaukee, Wisc., will open a 120,000-sf plant in Montgomery, Ala., in March 2005. The facility will produce interior components for Hyundai Motor Co.'s nearby manufacturing plant.  

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is leasing 81,500-sf of a 150,000-sf building that will be constructed in Cambridge. Housing office and R&D space, the facility will consolidate three Cambridge locations into a new state-of-the-art facility located in the 40-acre wooded Cambridge Discovery Park, which is owned by the Bulfinch Cos. Inc. Occupancy is slated for the fourth quarter of 2005.

Rice University in Houston has completed the renovation and remodeling of 3,000 sf in Abercrombie Hall to accommodate nanotechnology research. The facility houses a Class 100 cleanroom, a Class 1000 cleanroom, a conference area, and lab support space. The contractor for the design/build project was McCarthy Building Companies of Dallas .