Defense

Highly accurate badging data generated by workers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., is giving space planners and administrators powerful new insights for making more efficient space planning decisions in the post-pandemic era. As the nation’s largest Department of Defense University Affiliated Research Center, the 450-acre campus consists of nearly 4 million sf of space, including cutting-edge cybersecurity, spacecraft, and robotics facilities. Badging data from APL’s 8,000-plus workers provides detailed information for comparing projected space needs with the hybrid utilization behaviors established during the COVID-19 pandemic. These new data-driven insights are now being used to inform decision-making for high-cost capital construction projects and short-term space planning initiatives. 

When lockdown ended, many organizations saw the proven viability of telecommuting as a chance to reduce their real estate needs. Sandia National Laboratories seized the opportunity to use its work-from-home dividend to renovate its older buildings and update building amenities.

The United States Air Force Academy is constructing the $58 million Madera Cyber Innovation Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Designed by AECOM, the 49,000-sf building will strategically collocate the academy's Department of Computer and Cyber Sciences, the Air Force's CyberWorx center, and the Department of Homeland Security's Center of Innovation.

The University of Texas at San Antonio opened the $91.8 million San Pedro I building in January of 2023. Designed by Jacobs and Overland Partners, the six-story, 167,000-sf structure provides the School of Data Science with 84,000 sf of classrooms, labs, and offices for the departments of computer science, computer engineering, information systems and cybersecurity, and statistics and data sciences.

The University of Rochester is engaged in a $42 million expansion of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in Brighton, N.Y. Featuring Class 1000 cleanrooms for target fabrication and thin film coating activities, the 66,000-sf addition will include a laser computing facility, general and wet-bench research venues, and open office environments. The largest lab will house the AMICA laser system, a high-energy, long-pulse laser that is being assembled for Stanford University’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

The U.S. Air Force will begin construction in spring of 2022 on the $279 million Compound Semiconductor Laboratory – Microsystem Integration Facility (CSL-MIF) in Lexington, Mass. Supporting the growth, fabrication, and characterization of semiconductors made of two or more different elements, the 160,000-sf structure will enable scientists and engineers to package heterogeneously integrated electronic prototypes for specialized applications.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation broke ground in June of 2021 on the 250,000-sf Innovation Center in Huntsville, Ala. Located on the 243-acre Redstone Arsenal campus, the three-story facility will provide secure, sophisticated environments for data analytics, agent training, and the detection and mitigation of cyber threats. The technology-rich structure will offer collaborative workspaces, formal and informal auditoria, huddle spaces, a virtual reality classroom, and a kinetic cyber range.

The National Air and Space Intelligence Center awarded Messer Construction a $126.3 million contract in August of 2020 to build the final phase of the Intelligence Production Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Offering collaboration spaces and workstations for 980 analysts, the five-story complex will provide an additional 255,000 sf of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) space.

The Aerospace Corporation will break ground in fall of 2020 on a $100 million research and development center in Colorado. Located adjacent to the company's existing campus in Colorado Springs, the three-story, 90,000-sf structure will provide classified facilities for the design and deployment of resilient space architecture. Featuring a multipurpose technology center, the project will support acquisition, testing, and evaluation activities, as well as the development of tactics, techniques, and procedures.

The U.S. Army is building the Directed Energy Research Facility at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. The 5,800-sf project will provide the Space and Missile Defense Command with specialized high-bay labs for the creation of high energy laser (HEL) technologies. Accommodating two HEL systems simultaneously, the structure will support the prototyping and development of advanced weapons systems to respond to evolving threats. Construction began on the facility in March of 2020 and completion is expected in May of 2021.

The US Navy broke ground in May of 2020 on the $23 million Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory in Port Hueneme, Calif. Located at Naval Base Ventura County's Point Mugu sea range, the 18,500-sf facility will allow the Naval Surface Warfare Center to provide accelerated delivery of laser lethality to warfighters at sea.

Federal financial measures have been approved in the past few weeks to shore up the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, with direct monetary assistance and business loans totaling $5.5 trillion, and more support and flexibility for research universities and government contractors. The federal stimulus package—the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act—is intended to pump $2.2 trillion dollars into the economy, primarily in the healthcare and research sectors, and to provide emergency relief to institutions, businesses, and workers whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic. The specifics of how it will be implemented are still evolving, and it is likely that additional stimulus bills will be considered in the coming months, including investments in infrastructure for the nation’s research enterprise.

The US Air Force will begin construction in early 2020 on the $182 million Intelligence Production Complex at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The 225,000-sf facility will provide secure labs and offices to support mission-critical defense initiatives. The project represents a 40 percent expansion of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center and is the largest single-site construction project in the base's history.

The US Navy broke ground on the Cyber Warfare Engineering Laboratory in December of 2019 in Dahlgren, Va. The 10,000-sf facility will provide classified research space for the development, testing, and analysis of hardware and software systems for military weapon systems. Designed as a consolidated hub for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division's cyber engineering operations, the project will enable the creation of resilient network platforms and infrastructure, as well as accommodating interactive personnel training and evaluation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is constructing the Operations Support Building in Huntsville, Ala. Aided by $385 million in FY2019 funding, the facility is part of a $1 billion project to create the FBI’s HQ2 campus at the Redstone Arsenal. Enabling the relocation of approximately 4,000 employees from other locations, the six-building complex will support the bureau's cybercrime research and response operations. Three of the planned facilities, including the Operations Support Building, are currently under construction.