Industry News

San Jose State University (SJSU) will open the doors of the new $177.5-million Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library on August 1, 2003. The 475,000-sf facility, the first public/private partnership in the nation between a university and a city, will feature a browsing library serving hot and cold meals, an Internet cafe, a large story-telling room, a rooftop terrace available for rental, and four multipurpose suites with videoconferencing equipment available for meetings.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has recently contracted the Korth Cos. of the District of Columbia to renovate the 58,000-sf interior of the Office of Scientific Research and the Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals in Arlington, Va.

Bay Area BioScience Center (BABC) is expanding from 880 sf to 1,550 sf with a move from downtown San Francisco to a new South San Francisco location. With 450 Northern California members, BABC is also planning to open a second East Bay office in or near Berkeley this summer. Long-term plans include a Mission Bay office location as other biotechs move into that development.

Delta Search Labs is building a $300-million supercomputer lab in 50,000-sf of leased space at 700 Technology Square at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Expanding its 15,000-sf Kendall Square supercomputer operations, the new facility will enable researchers to visualize their data. 

Kennesaw State University is developing University Place, comprised of 11 three-story residential buildings and a 1,500-car parking deck. The $61-million, 700-bed project is a public-private venture built not with taxpayer dollars but with tax-exempt bonds and a nonrecourse loan. The 196-unit development included the Kennesaw State University Foundation's purchase of nine private homes and an existing apartment complex, which also helped fund the project.