Industry News

National Surgical Hospitals (NSH) opened the 30-bed Spine Hospital of South Texas and an accompanying medical office building in September. A joint venture of NSH and approximately 20 local physicians, the $30-million Stone Oak medical development will specialize in surgical spine care and pain management. The facility is designed to eventually expand to 40 rooms.

Idec Pharmaceuticals broke ground in October 2002 on its new five-building corporate headquarters and laboratory facility in San Diego's University Towne Center. San Diego-based Cisterra Partners is developer of the 42.6-acre project, with Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum of St.

The City of Jacksonville selected Boston-based Cannon Design to design its $211-million, 1-million-sf county courthouse complex. Cannon provided planning, programming and design services for the project, which included conversion of the old federal courthouse in addition to the new complex.

Intronn, a bioscience company engaged in gene therapy research, will occupy more than 9,000 sf in the 24,000-sf Unique Shared Services Laboratory in Gaithersburg. Currently based in an incubator in Rockville, Intronn will occupy the new facility in March 2003 after the lab space, now in shell condition, is built out. The wet lab facilities in the Unique Shared Services Laboratory will feature sterilization equipment, high-purity water, and compressed air and vacuum lines in a central corridor where they can be used by multiple tenants.

Plans for the new Newseum facility in Washington have been completed by Polshek Partnership Architects and Ralph Appelbaum Associates. The $400-million, 531,000-sf facility will house the six-level, 215,000-sf Newseum, 30,000-sf of retail, approximately 100 condominiums, a restaurant, and new offices for the Freedom Forum, the media foundation that supports the Newseum. Tripling the space of the previous Newseum in Arlington, the facility will be constructed on the former site of the D.C.