Industry News

Pioneer Hi-Bred broke ground on a 26,000-sf crop research center in late June of 2011 in Kinston, N.C. The $2.3 million project will enable the DuPont subsidiary to create advanced agribusiness products including corn and soybean seeds suited to local soil conditions. Completion is expected in fall of 2011. 

Virginia Tech opened a 144,000-sf research facility in Arlington in July of 2011. The facility houses the Advanced Research Center, the Virginia Tech Bioinformatics Institute, and the Center for Geospatial Information Technology. The center’s proximity to federal government agencies and corporations will promote collaboration and the development of industry partnerships.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Research Support Facility has attained LEED Platinum sustainable design certification. Located in Golden, Colo., the 222,000-sf project achieved all 59 targeted LEED points, including those for site selection, energy, materials and resources, and innovation. This is the highest score of the 10 U.S. federal facilities that have earned the LEED Platinum rating for new construction. The RSF also had a perfect score in the energy category, achieving all 17 points.

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin completed construction of the $54 million Science and Technology Building in July of 2011. Housing the departments of chemistry, physics, biology, and computer science, the 100,000-sf facility will provide 32 research and teaching labs, 32 faculty offices, two 100-seat lecture halls, and one 200-seat lecture hall. Occupancy is expected in August of 2011.

Hunter Medical Research Institute is building a $90 million translational research facility in Rankin Park, New South Wales. The 172,000-sf building will house 450 biomedical and clinical researchers and is slated for occupancy in mid-2012.