Academic Medical

Oklahoma State University opened the $45 million Tandy Medical Academic Building in Tulsa in September of 2017. Located at the OSU Center for Health Sciences, the four-story, 84,000-sf facility provides advanced simulation training suites including an emergency room, an intensive care unit, a birthing suite, an operating room, and an ambulance bay. The project also offers over 20 small breakout rooms, 18 exam rooms, three lecture halls, classrooms, conference rooms, study carrels, and a simulated hospital and manipulation lab for the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

UT Southwestern is initiating a $480 million expansion of William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital in Dallas. Providing a consolidated location for medical specialties, the 12-story, 650,000-sf tower will house the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, 19 operating rooms, an emergency department, and acute inpatient care facilities. The project will provide 300 new beds and two parking structures. Occupancy is expected in 2020. 

Rutgers University-Camden dedicated the $62.5 million Nursing and Science building in September of 2017. Designed by Perkins Eastman, the 100,000-sf facility connects Rutger’s Camden campus with Cooper University Hospital and provides simulation training facilities, teaching labs, classrooms, computer labs, conference rooms, lecture halls, study spaces, and faculty and administrative offices.

University of South Florida Health began construction in September of 2017 on a $173 million facility to house the Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in Tampa. Designed by HOK, the 319,000-sf project will provide laboratories, learning spaces, conference rooms, faculty offices, an auditorium, a clinical trials unit, and a cardiac care facility. Sited in a $3 billion development created by Strategic Property Partners, the building is located near Tampa General Hospital and USF’s simulation training center.

Monash University is constructing the Biomedical Learning and Teaching Building in Victoria. Designed by Denton Corker Marshall, the $81 million facility will feature four flexible labs that can be configured and conjoined to accommodate 60, 120, or 240 students. Supporting programs in microbiology, anatomy, biochemistry, immunology, and physiology, the 123,700-sf building will provide Physical Containment Level 2 (PC2) labs, technology-rich dissection labs, breakout spaces, and a 12,900-sf informal learning hub.

Michigan State University opened the $88.1 million Grand Rapids Research Center in September of 2017. The six-story, 162,800-sf project provides the College of Human Medicine with open laboratories to support up to 44 biomedical research teams. Designed and engineered by SmithGroupJJR with Ellenzweig as laboratory design consultant, the vibration-mitigated facility features core labs for flow cytometry, bioinformatics, and microscopy.

Sinclair Community College opened the $31.5 million Sifferlen Health Sciences Center in August of 2017 in Dayton, Ohio. Designed by LWC to support collaborative medical education, the 141,350-sf project included the renovation of an existing 80,170-sf building and construction of a 61,180-sf addition. Featuring advanced simulation training suites, the facility provides a centralized location for the college’s health science classrooms and will accommodate 53 degree and certificate programs.

Boston University opened the $140 million Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering (CILSE) in September of 2017. Designed by Payette, the nine-story, 170,000-sf facility houses the Center for Systems Neuroscience, the Biological Design Center, the Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging, and the Center for Sensory Communication and Neuroengineering Technology. The interdisciplinary building features a human Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) suite, a Siemens 3 Tesla MRI, and space for behavioral testing and computational research.

Armstrong State University broke ground in late August of 2017 on the $22 million Waters College of Health Professions in Savannah, Ga. Designed to accommodate team-based medical education, the interactive 75,000-sf facility will feature technology-rich simulation training labs for undergraduate programs including nursing, public health, physical therapy, and health administration. The project is being created in collaboration with Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, with which Armstrong State’s Savanna campus will eventually merge.

There are positive signs that funding for scientific research will not only be maintained, but will once again increase. Earlier this month, the Senate Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly approved $36.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health for the upcoming fiscal year. If approved intact, it will mark the third consecutive year that the NIH receives a $2 billion increase. The House Appropriations Committee already approved a $1.1 billion increase.

Saint Paul College opened the $20 million Health and Science Alliance Center in September of 2017 in St. Paul, Minn. Designed by Bentz/Thompson/Rietow and Oliver & Associates with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the four-story, 45,000-sf facility provides two flexible classrooms for STEM and health science programs, four science labs, two simulation labs, three general classrooms, and three classrooms supporting industry partnerships.

The United States Senate’s Committee on Appropriations approved a bipartisan bill in early September that provides $36.1 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health for fiscal year 2018, representing a $2 billion increase from 2017. The House of Representatives approved a $1.1 billion increase in NIH funding, with the actual amount expected to be closer to that allocated by the Senate bill.

SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital broke ground in August of 2017 on a $550 million academic medical center in St. Louis. Sited adjacent to the existing hospital campus, the 800,000-sf project will include construction of a nine-story tower and an adjoining three-story ambulatory care building. Featuring 316 private inpatient rooms, the facility will provide a Level I trauma center, an emergency department, intensive care units, and a cafeteria. Completion is expected in September of 2020. 

Colorado State University broke ground in August of 2017 on the $23.3 million Health Education Outreach Center in Fort Collins. Designed by Hord Coplan Macht to promote interaction and collaboration, the four-story, 39,600-sf facility will provide advanced teaching labs for anatomy and neuroanatomy, study areas, and space for community events. The project team includes Research Facilities Design as laboratory design consultant and general contractor Haselden Construction.

The South Dakota Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory broke ground in August of 2017 on a $58 million expansion and renovation of its Brookings facility. Located on the campus of South Dakota State University, the project includes 81,000 sf of new construction, including 3,762 sf of BSL-3 space and BSL-2E necropsy space. The existing laboratory space will subsequently be renovated. The project will support diagnostic testing and vaccine development for the prevention of infectious diseases. Completion is expected in 2020.