Industry News

Genentech Inc. is in the midst of a $17 million cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) warehouse and administrative facilities expansion and renovation at its Vacaville campus. The new 42,000-sf cGMP Building 3A warehouse, adjacent to the existing manufacturing facility's warehouse, will include 2,000 sf of Class 100 cleanroom space for material sampling. The remaining space will house warehouse specialized material storage, and office space. A 50,000-sf expansion of Building 4A will provide administrative office space and a new computer room.

Acterna, a Germantown telecommunications company, plans to consolidate its 4,000 employees, currently situated at five Germantown locations, at a new 45-acre corporate campus at the Milestone site in Germantown. Current plans include two initial buildings totaling 280,000 sf, with a potential for 700,000 sf at final build-out. The Peterson Cos., based in Fairfax, Va., is developing the property.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, based in Chevy Chase, Md., purchased the 281-acre Janelia Farm in December 2000 with plans for a large research campus on the property. Three office buildings and a Normandy-style mansion already exist at the site, which can support more than 2.5 million sf of space. The biomedical company is based in Chevy Chase, Md., where its headquarters will remain.

Zygo TeraOptix, based in Holliston, Mass., has a $9-million renovation and expansion under way in Westborough at a newly purchased 87,000-sf facility. A 33,500-sf expansion will create a new floor within one section of the structure that has 50'-high ceilings, bringing the total space available to 120,000 sf. Employees began occupying approximately 30,000 sf of the building in December 2000. Manufacturing operations for the optical networking company will be shifted from Holliston to the new facility when construction is completed.

Lois Paul & Partners, a national public relations company, will relocate its headquarters from Burlington, Mass., to a 145,000-sf building under construction at MetroNorth Commerce Center in Woburn. The company will occupy 90,000 sf in the five-story structure, which is scheduled for completion in August 2001. Architect for the Lois Paul project is Margulies & Associates of Boston. Special features at the new headquarters include a web café, multimedia conference rooms, and distance learning training facilities.