Industry News

Berklee College of Music celebrated the grand opening of its business center on July 17. The $1.1-million, 11,500-sf center consists of administrative support offices and new mail and copy centers in a two-level mixed-use urban facility. Designed by Miller Dyer Spears of Boston, the project includes a public retail copy center, with institutional mail and office areas on the main floor. Interior spaces are open to an exposed roof structure and new skylights, creating spacious ground level facilities.

The program for Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Group Headquarters Facility consists of a five-story 250,000-sf office tower, 30,000-sf design center, and a four-story parking structure. The facility consolidates the North American Headquarters for Ford's five luxury automotive brands, while maintaining individual brand identity. The project, built as a "green" facility, incorporates sustainable features. The LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) 2.0 guideline was used with the following results:

Idec Pharmaceuticals is planning a five-building, 470,000-sf biotech factory in Oceanside. The $500-million complex, with a 90,000-liter biologic manufacturing capacity, will be sited on 60 acres and will be comparable in size to Disneyland.

SouthTrust Bank will occupy a new main office building in the Atlantic Station development in Midtown Atlanta to be constructed by 2004. Developed by AIG Global Real Estate Investment, the building will house 300 banking and administrative employees in 95,000 sf on the building's first five floors. SouthTrust also completed construction in May at its Marietta, Ga., data center. SouthTrust's Corporate Banking and Enterprise Bank organizations are both based in Atlanta.

The University of the Incarnate Word broke ground earlier this week on a 3,360-sf expansion of the 1,200-sf Presa Community Center. Staffed with UIW faculty and students, the expansion will house a permanent office and resource center providing tutoring and mentoring programs, computer literacy classes, and small-business assistance. A Department of Housing and Urban Development grant is funding the $228,453 project. The Presa Community Center originated as a facility providing social services and helping families to become self-sufficient.