Industry News

The Office of Naval Research will consolidate its area employees at a new 13-story, 330,000-sf office facility at Liberty Center. Architect for the 1.7 million-sf Liberty Center complex is SmithGroup, with Clark Construction acting as general contractor. The Shooshan Co. is the developer for the $200-million redevelopment of the 4-acre former Ballston Center. Construction at the site is scheduled to begin in June 2002, with completion anticipated in 2004.

PeopleSoft plans to expand its headquarters at Hacienda Business Park pending approvals from the city of Pleasanton. The company’s existing 815,000-sf complex would be supplemented with a new 181,000-sf, five-story office structure on a vacant parcel owned by PeopleSoft across the street. It is anticipated that the building, which would accommodate approximately 800 people, would cost nearly $30-million, and would reach completion in fall of 2003.

The Fenn School, a private day school for boys in Concord, has selected Flansburgh Associates Inc. of Boston to design a 75,000-sf campus addition. Included in the project are six classrooms, facilities for locker rooms, and a multipurpose room to be used by the drama and wrestling programs.

$100 million of tobacco settlement funds will be used by the State of Pennsylvania to create three new biotech "greenhouses" to help nurture fledgling life science companies. The facilities will be located near Pittsburgh, near Philadelphia, and in the central part of the state.

Temple University is completing its move to the new Center City campus, referred to as TUCC. The campus has expanded to from 87,000-sf to 105,000-sf, with renovations including student lounges, an assembly room, eight computer labs on each floor, and 53 classrooms with modern accoutrements. The University currently occupies the lobby and floors two through five with plans to occupy floor six in January 2002. TUCC provides education primarily to business professionals.