Industry News

Adobe has begun to occupy the $117-million Adobe Systems Tower, its third facility in San Jose, Calif. Designed by Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum of San Francisco, Adobe’s $200-million, three-building urban campus totals nearly 1 million-sf of office space.

O’Connor Hospital broke ground on a new $10 million emergency department in San Jose, Calif., in December 2003. Increasing bed count from 11 to 21, the facility will accommodate a trauma room, two emergency gynecology rooms, and six chest-pain rooms with special monitoring equipment. Turner Construction is the project contractor. The new emergency department will be relocated to the front of the hospital to increase visibility. The hospital is also planning to construct a $2 million endovascular suite.

The Vinnell Corp., a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, is relocating from 12,000 sf in Baltimore City to over 110,000 sf at the Troy Hill Commerce Center in Elkridge, Md. The Vinnell Corp specializes in logistics and military training and will increase employee count with the move from 15 to 60 to accommodate a $48-million contract to train the core of a new Iraqi army. Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman currently occupies 283,000 sf in the 1.16 million-sf Troy Hill Commerce Center. The park developer is Manekin.

Los Angeles Harbor College is planning two new campus structures: the 39,000-sf  Student Services Building and the 68,000-sf Northeast Academic Building. The facilities will be sited on the college’s Wilmington, Calif., campus and will be constructed to meet LEED Silver certification. The $8.5-million Student Services Building, scheduled for completion in summer 2005, will consolidate available campus services and administration offices into a one-stop center.

The city of Lafayette, Calif., is planning to construct the Glenn Seaborg Learning Consortium at the new Lafayette Library and Learning Center. Created by twelve Bay Area educational and cultural institutions, the project is comprised of a 25,000-sf library and an attached 1,700-sf community room. Slated to open in 2006, the project is the first of its kind in the nation in size and scope. The collaborating groups are the Lawrence Hall of Science, Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland Museum of California, Commonwealth Club of California, John Muir/Mt.