Industry News

USAA plans to build a new western operations center at a 575-acre site in northern Phoenix, with completion scheduled for late 2002. USAA provides insurance and financial services.

MCI Worldcom has received approval from the Newark City Council for a new regional Internet network information center. The fast-track project includes two 108,336-sf buildings for a total of 216,672 sf to be built by Buffalo Properties Inc. on 13.5 acres at Stevenson Point Tech Park. The new facility will support MCI Worldcom's fiber-optic data network.

Synopsys Inc., based in Mountain View, Calif., opened a "plug-in" facility in Pleasanton in November 1999. Employees minimize time spent commuting in the East Bay by bringing their laptop computers to the 11,000-sf telecommuting office, which is equipped with desks, phones, fax and copy machines, a break room and vending machines.

Both Cisco Systems Inc. and Cadence Design Systems Inc. have also opened telecommute offices in the area.

Paradigm Genetics has broken ground on a $12.5 million, 54,000-sf lab and office campus on six acres in RTP. Eventually, the agricultural biotechnology company plans to develop a total of 284,000 sf on 22 acres at the site.

The University of Maryland at College Park, in conjunction with Lucent Technologies of Murray Hill, NJ, has plans for a "digital residence hall" for students in the Hinman Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities Program. Lucent will design and equip the facility with multimedia messaging, videoconferenceing, and high-speed wireless and data networking.