Animal Research

The National Institutes of Health has selected Perkins & Will to design the second phase of the Porter Neuroscience Research Center in Bethesda, Md. The construction cost is estimated at $150 million. Slated for completion in the third quarter of 2013, the project will provide generic laboratories, offices, animal holding facilities, and conference rooms. The completed Porter Neuroscience Research Center will encompass 600,000 sf. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine is planning to renovate its research facilities in Columbus. Supported by $3.9 million in stimulus funding, the project involves renovation of 8,000-sf on the second floor of Goss Lab to create BSL-2 laboratories, offices, and a dedicated rodent phenotyping and infectious necropsy lab.

McLaughlin Research Institute is initiating a 15,000-sf expansion and renovation of its animal research facility in Great Falls, Mont. The project includes a 3,000-sf vivarium addition, a cagewash, and 9,500-sf of renovated laboratory space. An additional 3,000-sf will be constructed as shell space for future expansion. The project will enable a total of 8,000 cages to be housed in the building. The general contractor for the project is Sletten Construction. Completion is expected by summer of 2010.

The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI) is planning to construct a £500 million biomedical research facility in London. The project will include a Category 3 biocontainment laboratory for the study of infectious diseases. Accommodating research on mice, rats, and ferrets, the facility will house 1,500 staff and is slated for completion in 2013. The project represents a partnership of the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, The Wellcome Trust, and University College London.

The University of Georgia has awarded Art’s Way Manufacturing a $1.3 million contract to provide 6 modular swine facilities. Housing breeding, gestation, nursery, and finishing operations, the complex will support swine production research and training. The sustainably-designed project will utilize methane gas produced at the site to fire boilers used to treat animal waste. Exhaust fans connected to a biofilter will improve air quality and rainwater will be collected and recycled for cleaning and irrigation.

Whitworth University broke ground on a $32 million biology and chemistry building in Spokane, Wash., in November of 2009. Slated for completion in fall of 2011, the three-story, 63,000-sf facility will house laboratories, animal research facilities, instrumentation, and flexible classrooms. The building will incorporate sustainable design features such as natural lighting, geothermal heating, and an energy-efficient HVAC system.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Laboratory is relocating to Manhattan, Kan. The facility is expected to open in August of 2010. Previously located in Laramie, Wyo., the laboratory will support research on livestock diseases spread by insects and arachnids.

Ceva Biomune will construct a $15 million poultry vaccine production facility in Lenexa, Kan. The two-story, 53,000-sf facility is expected to commence operations in the third quarter of 2010. The facility will enable Ceva to dramatically increase vaccine production to support a healthy poultry industry.

The University of Wisconsin Primate Research Center is planning to expand its Madison facility. A 23,500-sf addition will be constructed to house all animals currently part of the University's behavioral research project. $15 million in federal stimulus funding is being sought to support construction of the facility.

Fox Chase Cancer Center will begin construction in 2010 on a 25,290-sf animal research facility in Philadelphia. The four-story project will expand Fox's existing facilities utilizing mouse models for cancer research. Featuring a high-density individually ventilated cage system and advanced HEPA filtration, the project is supported by $8 million from the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health (NCRR/NIH) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Michigan State University opened its $2 million large animal MRI suite in East Lansing in August of 2009. Supporting research for the College of Veterinary Medicine, the facility provides diagnostic imaging for animals such as horses and cattle. Construction began on the project in January of 2009.

The Institute of Animal Health is planning a £100 million redevelopment of its animal disease research laboratories in Pirbright in the United Kingdom. Supporting research on emerging, existing, and vector-borne infectious diseases in animal and human populations, the project is slated for completion in 2013.

The Department of Agriculture announced in June of 2009 that it will provide $176 million in funding for renovations, repairs, and maintenance at 36 laboratory facilities. The funding has been allocated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Jackson Laboratory broke ground on a $9 million mouse isolation facility in Bar Harbor, Maine, in August of 2009. The three-story project will provide 22,500-sf of laboratory space for the company’s reproductive services division. The facility will include suites for cryopreservation storage and mouse distribution The general contractor for the project is Consigli Construction of Portland, Maine. Completion is expected in November of 2010 with operations commencing in spring of 2011.

Elanco officially broke ground on its 130,000-sf headquarters in Greenfield, Ind., in July of 2009. Located on 20-acres in the Progress Park life sciences development, the facility will enable the global animal health company to consolidate operations with its existing R&D facilities in Greenfield. Elanco is a division of Eli Lilly and Co.