Industry News

George Mason University Foundation has received approval for construction of a seven-story office building with a six-story, underground parking structure in Virginia Square. The $60 million project will sit on nearly two acres and provide 192,500-sf for office space and 13,275 sf of retail space on the building’s first floor. Above- and below-ground parking will accommodate 671 vehicles. The foundation uses private tenant lease money for acquisition and construction costs, selling or donating the building to the university when the project has been paid for.

PPL Corp., a Pennsylvania energy company, plans to locate its Energy Plus division  adjacent to its headquarters in Allentown. Liberty Property Trust will convert a former department store site into a six- or seven-story building; PPL will occupy 170,000 sf of the facility. Liberty has selected Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York to design the building, with groundbreaking possible in early 2002, and completion in spring 2003. PPL plans to build a 1,000-vehicle parking deck nearby.

Amberwave Systems’ new fabrication facility in Salem has been completed. The structure comprises a 6,000-sf cleanroom manufacturing space and 25,000-sf base building and office space. Plymouth, Mass.-based Lloyd Architects designed the building. General construction services were provided by Hodess Building Co. of North Attleboro, Mass. Staughton, Mass.-based Am Tech Engineers Inc. designed the mechanical systems.

REMEC Inc. has plans for an 81,000-sf expansion at Parkway Business Centre, where the company’s wireless products division has a 65,000-sf R&D facility. The expansion includes all of the Parkway Centre Five building, where construction is expected to be complete in September 2001. The structure will accommodate the company’s broadband radio, mobile wireless infrastructure, as well as the wireless division’s manufacturing. KMA Architecture and Engineering is the architect for the project; R.G. Petty is the general contractor.

Techplace @ 2 St., a new $1.5 million technology incubator located in a renovated former factory, is open in Philadelphia. A nonprofit group, Citizens Alliance, purchased the building, and has been rehabilitating it over the past two years. The facility will feature a cybercafe; a conference center for use by tenants, with Microsoft and Compaq Computer equipment; and adjacent parking. The grand opening is scheduled for December 2001.