Industry News

 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.

 Bank of America, headquartered in Dallas, has awarded Trammell Crow a multiyear, multimillion dollar contract to handle leasing and management for the bank nationwide, which encompasses 40 million sf of real estate in 23 states. This is the largest real estate outsourcing contract in Trammel Crow’s history, and will cover everything from HVAC maintenance to site locations for new branch banks.

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.