Industry News

Mercer University broke ground in May of 2022 on the 65,000-sf Moye Pharmacy and Health Sciences Center in Atlanta. Located on the Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus in Atlanta, the collaborative facility will feature flexible classrooms that can easily accommodate diverse pedagogies ranging from didactic instruction to active team-based learning.

Missouri University of Science and Technology is constructing the $37 million Innovation Lab in Rolla. Enhancing the recruitment and retention of first-year students, the 50,000-sf facility will feature maker spaces, idea labs, active-learning classrooms, and specialized environments for augmented and virtual reality technologies. The highly transparent structure will offer collaboration venues of various sizes to promote experiential education and entrepreneurship.

Growing demand for life sciences research space is driving an increase in office-to-lab conversion projects in the United States. According to a new report from CBRE, office-to-lab conversions in progress in the 12 largest U.S. life sciences markets at the end of 2021 amounted to 9.9 million sf, up 49 percent from the beginning of the year. In comparison, ground-up lab construction rose by 42 percent to nearly 18.8 million sf by the end of 2021.

St. John's University broke ground on the $106 million Health Sciences Center in New York in May of 2022. Located on the Queens campus, the 70,000-sf facility will provide state-of-the-art laboratories, active learning classrooms, and simulation suites to train the next generation of caregivers. Housing the School of Nursing and other allied health programs, the project will promote interprofessional education with flexible teaching venues where teams of students can work together.

Spelman College began construction in May of 2022 on the $86 million Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation & the Arts in Atlanta. Designed by Studio Gang and Goode Van Slyke Architecture, the 84,000-sf facility will accommodate thriving programs in dance, documentary filmmaking, photography, music, and theater and performance. Opening onto a public plaza, the five-story building will include The Porch, a community-facing zone with a dance performance studio, a black box theater, an art gallery, and a café.