Industry News

The City of San Antonio broke ground in late March 2003 on the new 15,000-sf Henry A. Guerra Jr. Branch Library. Construction is slated for completion later this year. Architect for the $2,799,000 project is Sprinkle-Robley. The project cost includes $400,000 for books, magazines, newspapers, videos, DVDs, and CDs.

Chief Container Corp., a maker and distributor of corrugated cardboard boxes, is nearing completion of a 260,000-sf facility north of Atlanta in Bartow County. Chief Container plans to relocate from its current location, a 144,000-sf bulk warehouse in Atlanta, in April 2003.

The Charles E. Bennett Federal Building in Jacksonville is undergoing a $24-million modernization. Housing the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and Housing, and Urban Development offices, the 11-story, 298,000-sf facility is slated for completion by July 2004. The Jacksonville office of Skanska USA Building is general contractor for the project.

Memorial Hermann City Hospital in Houston opened the 18,000-sf Technical Education Center on March 28. The facility centralizes training programs that were previously sited at other hospital system locations. Housing three classrooms accommodating 50 students each, laboratories for nursing, surgical technology and radiology, and faculty offices, the center provides a simulated hospital setting for hands-on training. The surgical lab contains two mock operating rooms with surgical beds, scrub sink, and overhead lights.

Medical Center of Arlington opened the first phase of its $70-million expansion project on March 29, 2003. Part of a three-year development plan begun in January 2002, the expansion includes a new main entrance and a three-story Women's Center and birthing services tower. The center features a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and all-private birthing rooms. The tower expansion project, based on a platform that supports long-term addition of extended women's services, will affect 175,000 sf and add 69 new private rooms.