Industry News

The Ohio State University Medical Center will initiate construction on a 44,000-sf expansion of the Comprehensive Cancer Center in February 2003. The project is a vertical expansion of  the 3rd and 4th floors on top of Wiseman Hall, creating additional space for research and supporting the growing Human Cancer Genetics programs.

Lucasfilm Ltd. broke ground in February on a $300-million special effects campus at San Francisco's Presidio, a 490-acre national park and former army base. Located on the site of the demolished Letterman Army hospital, the 850,000-sf Letterman Digital Arts project will eventually accommodate 2,500-workers. The campus is slated for completion in 2005.

BioLab, a Decatur-based manufacturer of water treatment products, will relocate to 89,000 sf of office space in Gwinnett County's Hillside III at Huntcrest development in spring of 2003. Terms of the lease with Duke Realty Corp. include the construction of an adjacent 50,000-sf build-to-suit research facility for BioLab slated for completion in March 2004. BioLab is a subsidiary of Indiana-based Great Lakes Chemical Corp.

The Memphis Biotech Foundation has selected Memphis firms Hnedak Bobo Group (HBG) as program manager and TRO/The Ritchie Organization as lead architect/engineer/interior designer for the first phase of the University of Tennessee/Baptist Research Park in Memphis.

Charlotte, N.C.-based OrthoNeuro Corp. is creating its first specialty hospital in Austin. OrthoNeuro is redeveloping the former Renaissance Women's Center into the Austin Surgical Hospital, slated to open in spring of 2003. The renovation includes 50,000 sf of the four-year-old facility, adding six operating rooms, two procedure rooms, 25 inpatient rooms, and an intensive care unit. A rehabilitation center, an expanded imaging department, and a clinical laboratory will enable the hospital to provide various ancillary services.