Industry News

The University of Massachusetts broke ground on the 69,000-sf Health and Social Sciences Building in Lowell in April of 2011. Housing the departments of psychology, nursing, and criminal justice, the facility will provide classrooms, labs, faculty offices, conference rooms, simulation suites for healthcare training, and social science research space. The sustainably designed project will feature natural lighting and ventilation and efficient building systems.

The University of North Carolina-Asheville dedicated the $41 million Wilma M. Sherrill Center in April of 2011. The 135,500-sf facility houses the N.C. Center for Health & Wellness, classrooms, labs, fitness rooms, a teaching kitchen, a cafe, and the Kimmel Arena. The sustainably designed facility features natural lighting, an underground rainwater cistern, and occupancy sensors for lighting.

Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Health System will begin construction in late spring of 2011 on a $27.3 million research office facility. The three-story, 100,000-sf project will provide laboratories, clinical space, offices, support, and a rooftop helipad. The project team includes Pittsburgh-based architectural firm Astorino and general contractor P.J. Dick of West Mifflin. Completion is expected in October of 2013. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Harbor Hospital awarded Hensel Phelps Construction a $165.1 million design-build contract for the expansion and renovation of its Willowbrook campus in Los Angeles County. A 120-bed inpatient facility will be constructed and three existing buildings will be renovated. Completion is expected in September of 2013.

Valent BioSciences is planning to build a $132 million bioprocessing facility in Osage, Iowa. The 130,000-sf building will house fermentation tanks with downstream processing equipment, quality assurance labs, offices, and warehouse space. Valent BioSciences is a maker of biological pesticides and plant growth regulators based in Libertyville, Ill.