Government

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) will expand its main office in Arlington's Virginia Square, adding 415,472 sf to its 370,000-sf campus. The $75-million development will accommodate an additional 1,100 employees. Comprised of two nine-story towers with ground-floor retail, the project is slated for completion in 2006. The FDIC will vacate leased offices in the district but will maintain its headquarters office across from the Old Executive Office Building.

Global defense contractor Northrop Grumman is constructing two new Florida facilities to support a Navy contract for additional aircraft. A $2.5-million office facility is under construction at the company's St. Augustine site. The 45,000-sf building will house administrative support services, human resources, and members of the federal Defense Contract Management Agency, which monitors aircraft performance, production, and delivery. The second planned facility will house a customer training center and a cafeteria.

The City of San Antonio broke ground in late March 2003 on the new 15,000-sf Henry A. Guerra Jr. Branch Library. Construction is slated for completion later this year. Architect for the $2,799,000 project is Sprinkle-Robley. The project cost includes $400,000 for books, magazines, newspapers, videos, DVDs, and CDs.

The Charles E. Bennett Federal Building in Jacksonville is undergoing a $24-million modernization. Housing the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and Housing, and Urban Development offices, the 11-story, 298,000-sf facility is slated for completion by July 2004. The Jacksonville office of Skanska USA Building is general contractor for the project.

The National Archives Building, built in 1935, is undergoing a $110-million renovation that will restore the facility's rotunda and install fiber-optic lighting systems and high-security vaults. Mechanical and electrical systems will be upgraded, and head space in the exhibit galleries will be created by the removal of several floors, shrinking the building's total space from 1.4-million sf to 900,000 sf.

The Alameda County Health Service Agency will break ground in late March 2003 on the second of three planned buildings at the Creekside Plaza office park in San Leandro. Developed by Creekside Associates LLC, a subsidiary of The Innisfree Companies of Sausalito, the 50,041-sf leased building will house the Health Finance Agency, Emergency Medical Services and Family Health Services upon completion in early 2004. The departments to be consolidated are currently located in offices in Oakland and San Leandro.

The Alamo Heights City Council has approved plans to renovate and expand City Hall. Designed by architectural firm Bartholomew & Co., the $4.5-million project will be developed in five phases over three years, expanding the existing 9,000-sf complex to 20,000 sf, including a 12,000-sf fire station and community meeting room. Construction is slated to begin in June 2003. The new facility will be ADA code compliant and energy efficient, featuring a geothermal air-conditioning system.  

The National Research Council (NRC) is planning the permanent home of the new National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) in Edmonton, Alberta. The $40-million facility will be created by a partnership between the Government of Canada through the NRC, the Government of Alberta, and the University of Alberta. The building will be built to a silver-level LEED certification as specified by the U.S.

The GSA, National Capital Region, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA, has awarded the mid-Atlantic division of Centex Construction the $55-million contract for Phase 2A of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Office Building at the Federal Research Center in White Oak, Silver Spring, Md. The largest facility planned for the FDA campus, the six-story, 550,000-sf CDER will house laboratories, research facilities, and office space.

The U.S. Department of State's Overseas Buildings Operations Bureau awarded San Antonio-based The H.B. Zachry Co. the $50.6-million contract to design and build the new United States Embassy in Cambodia. Sited in Phnom Penh, the 128,000-sf compound is expected to begin construction in June 2003 and reach completion in January 2006. The H.B. Zachary Co., which participated in the design and construction of the U.S.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will award the Atlanta CDC $250-million in federal funds to perform needed facility renovations. The CDC branch at Colorado's Ft. Collins will receive $18-million for improvements. The CDC's ten year master building plan includes facility and equipment improvements totalling approximately $1.5-billion.

The Austin office of White Construction Co. has been awarded the $20-million contract to build a new detention center in Lea County, New Mexico. Construction of the 432-bed center is expected to begin in June 2003 with completion in June 2004.

DynCorp, the EPA's new technology contractor, has leased 68,000 sf in Highwoods Properties' Research Commons development in Research Triangle Park.

The U.S. General Services Administration has selected the Los Angeles office of New York-based architectural firm Richard Meier & Partners to design the new 60,000-sf federal courthouse in downtown San Diego. The facility is projected to reach completion in fall 2009.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is constructing the Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies on its Cambridge campus. The facility is funded by a $50-million grant from the U.S. Army.