Industry News

SoBran BioScience is creating an animal research facility in Greensboro, N.C. Located on the north campus of the Gateway University Research Park, the laboratory and office building will support collaborative partnerships with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The facility will provide 8,500 sf of preclinical lab space designed to meet ISO 9001-2008 and GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) standards and attain full AAALAC accreditation.

HCA Holdings is building the $109 million Oviedo Medical Center in Oviedo, Fla. Sited on 48 acres, the 198,000-sf project includes a 64-bed acute-care hospital, a 40,000-sf medical office building, and a freestanding emergency department. Designed by Gould Turner Group, Oviedo Medical Center will provide a full range of healthcare services including intensive care, cardiology, surgery, primary care, orthopedics, and labor and delivery. Occupancy is expected in early 2017.

Beijing Construction Engineering Group and the University of Huddersfield in the United Kingdom have signed a five-year agreement to collaboratively develop Building Information Modelling (BIM) technologies. The partnership will leverage BCEG's expertise in lean construction practices with the University of Huddersfield's new degree program in Design Integration and Building Information Modeling. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will also create employment opportunities at BCEG for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Lexington Medical Center will begin construction in early summer of 2016 on an eight-story, 545,000-sf tower on its hospital campus in West Columbia, S.C. Designed by Perkins+Will, the $430 million expansion will accommodate 176 new inpatient beds as well as space for critical care, intensive care, surgery, and labor and delivery. The project will include renovation of existing hospital facilities as well as construction of a parking garage and a medical office building. Completion is expected in late 2018.

Auburn University began construction in February of 2016 on two new health science facilities in Auburn, Ala. Designed to support advanced instruction in team-based healthcare, the $29 million School of Nursing will feature simulation labs, active learning classrooms, and spacious interdisciplinary teaching labs. The three-story, 89,000-sf building will also provide research space, faculty offices, conference rooms, a tiered auditorium, and a student lounge.