Industry News

The $1.8 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital opened in April of 2017 in Birtinya, Australia. The sustainably designed facility provides 450 inpatient beds with the capacity to expand to over 738 beds in the future. The 1,776,000-sf project houses the Sunshine Coast Health Institute, which includes a 370-seat medical instruction auditorium and a clinical research and education unit.

Nebraska Wesleyan University broke ground in April of 2017 on the $27 million Duane W. Acklie Hall of Science in Lincoln. Housing the departments of biology, chemistry, and psychology, the three-story, 80,000-sf facility will provide collaborative classrooms, laboratories, study spaces, and a greenhouse. The project team includes The Clark Enersen Partners as architect of record with Celli-Flynn Brennan as design architect.

The $75 million Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center opened in April of 2017 in Kissimmee. Created by the University of Central Florida in collaboration with Osceola County and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, the 109,000-sf facility houses the world’s first industry-led smart sensor consortium.

Utah State University broke ground in April of 2017 on the $45 million Life Sciences Building in Logan. Designed by VCBO Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 103,000-sf facility will provide 13 teaching labs, research labs, a lecture hall, and study spaces. The project will also house the Department of Biology. Completion is expected in January of 2019.

Ford Motor Company is expanding and renovating its research and manufacturing facilities in Michigan. Construction will begin in mid-2017 on a $200 million data center in Romeo. In 2018, a truck and SUV production facility in Wayne will be retooled at a cost of $850 million. Ford will also invest $150 million to expand its Wayne engine manufacturing plant.