Defense

Defense contractor Riverside Research completed a $7 million expansion of its Dayton campus in October of 2015. The project features the 20,200-sf Open Innovation Center, a collaborative and secure research environment providing multidisciplinary lab space for the study of computational electromagnetics, sensors, optical lasers, and space propulsion and communications. The 30,000-sf facility features a plasma chamber capable of simulating space conditions as well as an EMI-shielded suite.

The Army Institute of Public Health has awarded a $206 million contract to a joint venture of The Walsh Group and Gilbane Building Company for the Public Health Command (PHC) laboratory replacement project. Located on 20 acres at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, the 275,000-sf biomedical research facility will include wet labs, field labs, offices, anechoic chambers, laser labs, a vivarium, an insectary, and a 43,000-gsf central utility plant.

The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) is constructing a 950,000-sf replacement facility at Fort Detrick, Md. The $800 million project will provide BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 laboratory space to support advanced biomedical research. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on the project in August of 2009 and completion is expected in 2017.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security broke ground in May of 2015 on the $835 million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kan. Created in partnership with Kansas State University, the 574,000-gsf facility will provide shared BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 research space for the study of infectious diseases and select agents. The project is being built by the joint venture construction team of McCarthy/Mortenson.

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is planning to renovate a 67,000-sf animal research facility in Silver Spring, Md. Constructed in 1972 to provide biomedical laboratories and vivarium space for large and small animals, Building 511 will be extensively upgraded with new electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and building automation systems. New wall, floor, and ceiling finishes will be installed as well as vibration mitigation technologies for specialized research equipment.

Nanotherapeutics is building the $135 million Advanced Development and Manufacturing Center in Alachua, Fla. Designed by RS&H, the 165,000-sf project will support vaccine development and production utilizing advanced biomanufacturing technologies. Ground was broken on the facility in October of 2013 and completion is expected by 2016. Nanotherapeutics is contracted to the Department of Defense to develop medical countermeasures to chemical and biological threats as well as infectious disease outbreaks.

Researchers at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) have completed a study of a therapeutic candidate for the Marburg virus in a BSL-4 research facility in Fort Belvoir, Va. The study was conducted entirely under Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) conditions, setting a precedent for GLP testing of medical products for BSL-4 pathogens. This may facilitate rapid evaluation and licensing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The University of Rhode Island broke ground on the $68 million Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences in June of 2014. The five-story, 135,000-sf facility will house teaching labs, research labs, lecture halls, classrooms, offices, an instrumentation suite, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Center of Excellence for Explosives Detection, Mitigation and Response. The project team includes Wilson Architects of Boston and Bacon Construction of East Providence, R.I. Completion is expected in spring of 2016.

The Air Force Research Laboratory has attained LEED Gold sustainable design certification for the 53,000-sf Advanced Power and Thermal Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The $21 million project included a complete renovation of the existing Static Test Laboratory, built in 1934, to provide areas for materials processing, data acquisition, cleanrooms, and fabrication facilities.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) opened its new $86 million headquarters in May of 2012 in Arlington. The 13-story, 300,000-sf project is designed to attain LEED Platinum sustainable design certification. Built on a brownfield site, the secure facility will support strategic operations for the Department of Defense. Construction began in January of 2009. 

Ground was broken in January of 2011 on the $1.2 billion National Security Agency data center at Camp Williams, Utah. The facility is being built by a joint venture of Balfour Beatty, DPR, and Big-D Construction. Supporting national security objectives, the 1.5 million-sf foot facility will provide 900,000 sf of technical support and administrative space and a 100,000-sf raised floor data center. A chiller plant and an electrical substation will also be built at the site.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is building a 355,000-sf headquarters facility in Arlington, Va. The project team includes architect RTKL and general contractor Clark Construction Group. The 13-story office building will meet Level IV security standards and is slated for completion in early 2012. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project. The facility represents the first phase of the planned 1.2 million-sf Founders Square mixed-use project.

Raytheon Company opened a 75,000-sf facility at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland in January of 2011. Promoting collaboration with the U.S. military on warfighter technologies and systems, the facility provides offices, laboratories, and customer presentation facilities. The center houses 200 employees for Raytheon's Advanced Communications and Countermeasures group and its U.S. Business Development office. The facility is built to meet LEED Silver sustainable design standards.

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake opened the $64 million Dr. William B. McLean Laboratory in October of 2010 in San Bernardino County, Calif. The 177,000-sf technology center houses 30 laboratories, including 50,000 sf of secured engineering labs, and 4,800 sf of high bay space. The general contractor for the project was Barnhart Construction of San Diego with Naval Facilities Engineering Command as construction manager. LEED gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory broke ground on the 47,500-sf Building 30 in July of 2010. The $30 million spacecraft assembly and testing facility will include optics labs and a high-bay cleanroom. The project will support research for NASA and the Department of Defense and is expected to open in fall of 2012. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.