Industry News

Versicor, a Fremont, Calif.-based drug developer, will relocate its headquarters to Philadelphia where its clinical development operations are based. Versicor develops drugs for the hospital market which fight difficult-to-treat infections.

The $30-million Lockheed Martin Mississippi Space & Technology Center is being developed by a partnership of Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin, NASA, and the State of Mississippi. Located at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, the 220,000-sf facility will create an estimated 270 jobs. The project is being funded by $30 million in state and county funds and an additional $30 million from Lockheed Martin.

Illinois-based Newell Rubbermaid's home products division is planning a $26.8-million internal expansion of its 1,200,000-sf Greenville plant. The plant will become the single-source manufacturer and distributor for a new product line launched by Rubbermaid. 

Chula Vista's Southwestern College is developing the $22-million Education Village with San Diego State University where the schools will share classroom space. In Otay Mesa, Southwestern and Sweetwater Union High School are planning Project Synergy, a $123-million, 305,900-sf classroom and office facility. The first phase of construction is slated to start in September 2003 and reach completion in early summer of 2005. A new Sweetwater district high school will open adjacent to the facility the following autumn.

Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco recently broke ground on a 25,000-sf emergency department addition and renovation project. As builder McCarthy constructs the new ER addition, renovation of the existing adjacent facilities will also be completed. A new medical center entrance will integrate the new and renovated areas of the facility. Completion of the $5.7-million project, designed by architect PageSoutherlandPage, is expected in October 2003.