Industry News

South Carolina State University opened the $17.5 million Leroy Davis Sr. Science and Research Complex in April of 2011. The 57,000-sf facility includes advanced laboratories and classrooms, two auditoriums, an office tower, research space, and five conference rooms. The three-story complex houses the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences. 

Caliber Biotherapeutics opened a 145,000-sf biopharmaceutical production plant in April of 2011 in College Station, Texas. The facility will support the manufacturing of vaccines and protein-based drugs using tobacco plants instead of conventional egg-based methodologies. The project features modular cleanroom pods for purification and laboratory equipment. Caliber Therapeutics represents a research partnership of Texas A&M University and G-Con LLC.

Virtua Health opened its $323 million replacement hospital in Voorhees, N.J., in April of 2011. The 690,000-sf project includes an eight-story, 364,000-sf inpatient facility housing 360 private beds and a five-story, 298,000-sf support services building. The complex was built by Turner Construction Company in 34 months.

Kansas State University opened the 108,000-sf International Animal Health and Food Safety Institute on April 26, 2011. Located on the Innovation campus in Olathe, the $28 million facility houses labs, classrooms, a conference center, a kitchen complex, a student lounge, and a power plant. The Institute will support research, educational, and commercial programs.

Biogen Idec will begin construction in May of 2011 on the 180,000-sf Bio26 facility in Research Triangle Park, N.C. The building will include a five-story office tower and a wing housing an auditorium, conference rooms, and a cafeteria. The facility will support the growth of Biogen Idec’s biologics manufacturing operations. The construction manager for the project is RN Rouse. A minimum of LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility. Completion is expected in mid-2012.