Industry News

 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will occupy all but the top two floors of a nine-story building being developed by Lowe Enterprises Mid-Atlantic. The interior design will be handled by Hickok Warner Fox.   The FTC expects to occupy 200,000 sf of the 260,000-sf, $65-million structure in July 2002.

The Pentagon anticipates proceeding with its renovation. The announcement of a $620 million contract award to the developer/architectural team of  Colorado-based Hensel Phelps is expected. The 12 to 14 year project would include the reconstruction of 4 million sf in four wedges of the five-story building, each wedge housing approximately 5,000 employees. In addition to Hensel Phelps Construction, the project team includes Shalom Baranes Associates, HDR Architecture, MC Dean, Studio Architecture, and Southland Industries.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, based in Newark, N.J., plans to consolidate its Philadelphia and Evesham offices in a new 87,460-sf secondary headquarters in Mt. Laurel. The $11 million facility, built by Boston-based Leggat McCall Properties, will accommodate more than 400 employees beginning in late June 2001.

Deere & Co., based in Moline, Ill., moved into a 12,500-sf training facility in August at the Commonwealth Park II development in Morrisville, a short distance from Cary, N.C., where the company is building a new division headquarters. Three classrooms, three labs, a conference room plus some unfinished space will provide product training space for the company's employees. At build-out, the company's nearby Cary campus will house up to 2,000 employees.

 Answerthink Inc., a computer consulting company based in Miami, has plans for a new headquarters at O'Neill Properties Group's Millenium project. The facility, dubbed 'Technoplex', will accommodate a computer operations center, an advanced R&D facility, and space for training and educational activities. Approximately 180 employees will be employed at the new building.