Texas A&M University broke ground in April of 2008 on the $47.8 million Texas Institute of Preclinical Studies (TIPS) in the A&M Research Park in Bryan. The 112,000-sf biomedical and animal research facility will support development and commercialization of therapies for diseases including cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.
The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute will officially open its new $32 million Alzheimer’s research facility on West Virginia University's Morgantown health sciences campus on September 19, 2008. Housing 20 researchers, the 78,000-sf facility includes 20,000-sf of lab and office space, open labs with ten feet of bench space per researcher, microscopy and electrophysiology labs, a darkroom, and a commons area. The three-story facility will be able to accommodate up to 100 researchers.
East Carolina University rededicated the Carol Belk Building in Greenville, N.C., on March 28. Designed by MHAworks, the $9 million renovation project transformed the existing facility to create a home of the College of Health and Human Performance. Designed to promote interaction, the Belk Building houses research laboratories up to BSL-3, teaching labs with low flow hoods and customized storage systems, three auditoriums, offices, work rooms, and conference rooms. The facility features extensive daylighting and an exterior low-e glazing.
The University of California, San Diego has selected Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects to design a new biomedical research facility on the Health Sciences campus in La Jolla. The project will include approximately 150,000-sf of wet-bench laboratories, laboratory support, laboratory core facilities, and office/conference space to accommodate biomedical research programs at UCSD’s School of Medicine, including a new multi-department program in genomic medicine and expanded department of neurosciences.
Scripps Research Institute is constructing three buildings totaling 350,000-sf on 40 acres adjoining Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter. Slated for completion by year-end 2008, the facilities will house biomedical research laboratories, technology space, and offices. A grand opening is set for Feb. 26, 2009. The buildings under construction at Scripps Florida include the Molecular and Biomedical Research building, the Advanced Technologies and Administration building, and the Drug Discovery building.
Response Biomedical Corporation will relocate to its new global headquarters in Vancouver, B.C. on March 31, 2008. The 46,000-sf specialized use facility was specifically designed and constructed for development, GMP manufacturing, and distribution of point-of-care (POC) medical diagnostic test kits. The new facility should allow manufacturing scale-up from approximately 500,000 tests currently manufactured per year to four million tests per year by mid-2008, based on the demands of industry partners including 3M and Shinogi & Co. of Japan.
Yale School of Medicine completed the fit-out of a 70,000-sf translational research facility at its New Haven, Conn., campus in March of 2008. The project contractor was Tucker Mechanical, a subsidiary of EMCOR Group. Tucker Mechanical provided all HVAC and plumbing for the 70,000 square-foot building which was originally designed as an office. Comprised of five floors and a penthouse, the building was constructed to attain LEED certification.
Yale University is planning to construct a 180,000-sf biomedical research building in New Haven, Conn. Designed by Pelli Clark Pelli, the five-story facility will be comprised of an underground lab support floor, three floors of laboratories, and a mechanical penthouse and greenhouses on the fourth floor. LEED Gold certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project. The research facility will be connected to the Kline Biology Tower by a bridge.
The Qatar Foundation began construction in early 2008 on the Sidra Medical and Research Center in Doha, Qatar. Designed by Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli and executive architectural firm Ellerbe Becket, the center will provide world-class clinical care, medical education, and biomedical research facilities. Funded by $7.9 billion (US) by the Qatar Foundation, the project is located on the Education City campus near Weill Cornell Medical College.
The University of Florida celebrated the topping out of the new UF Biomedical Sciences Building in Gainesville on February 29, 2008. The six-story, 160,000-sf multidisciplinary facility is slated for completion in early 2009.
Boston University broke ground in late February 2008 on its new facility at Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC). The project, part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Academic Medical Centre, is slated for completion in 2011. The facility will house graduate and postgraduate programs in dentistry and allied health sciences.
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is planning to construct the 130,000-sf Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Funded by $60 million from the state of Florida and $53 million in infrastructure expenditures from the city of Port St. Lucie, the facility will operate on funds from National Institutes of Health research grants. The project, to be constructed in the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition over three years, will be modeled on OHSU’s Beaverton facility with which it will be affiliated.
Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (TPIMS) initiated construction in February of 2008 on a $40 million, 100,000-sf headquarters facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Comprised of office and laboratory space, the project is being built by Suffolk Construction in the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition. The 189-employee building is slated to open in 2009 and will house $9 million in equipment. The project will seek LEED certification for sustainable design and construction.
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will begin construction in early 2010 on a $90 million general research building. Located adjacent to UTMB’s Primary Care Pavilion, the laboratory and office building is slated for completion in 2012. The 140,000-sf facility will reach four to five stories high and will contain 76,000-sf of dedicated research space.
Emory Vaccine Center partnered with the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in January of 2008 to create the Joint ICGEB-Emory Vaccine Center in New Delhi, India. The center will accommodate vaccine research for diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, dengue fever, and malaria. Funding to support scientific staff will be provided by Emory University with ICGEB providing space and infrastructure.
