Industry News

Progress Energy is planning to lease over 450,000 sf in two new office towers to be developed in downtown Raleigh in order to consolidate operations currently scattered in 250,000 sf across Raleigh. The towers, which may rise as high as 18 to 20 stories each, will be located on a two-acre site adjacent to Progress's current 21-story, 250,000-sf office. Progress, providing only the land and the lease guarantee, has issued a request for proposals to 14 development companies and plans to make a selection in April 2002.

Defense contractor Raytheon is considering the sale of its Lexington, Mass. headquarters due to the 41-year-old facility's expensive operating costs. Raytheon plans to decide by year-end whether to seek another Boston area location or to upgrade its existing headquarters, which include the commercial electronics main office, a research lab, and two buildings housing corporate staff.

Montgomery College in Rockville has selected architectural firm Einhorn Yaffee Prescott to develop a master plan for its Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park campuses. The plan will integrate factors such as current land holdings, increased enrollment, and growth options for the fields of science and biotechnology.

Sabre Inc. is planning a 2,000,000-sf corporate campus on 175 acres in Southlake, Texas, slated for completion in 2008. Developed by Maguire Partners, the campus will require over $540 million in capital investment over the next ten years and will house 10,000 employees. The project is part of the Solana mixed-use development.

BioHouston Inc., a business incubator, is planning to build a $633-million biotechnology park on 64 acres in Houston. The lab and office park will facilitate life science research by bringing the medical, educational, and corporate communites together in a centralized location. Construction on the first building in the biotech park will be completed in late summer of 2002 by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.