Government

Emory University will house the new Southeastern Center for Emerging Biologic Threats, a collaboration of state and federal agencies and top researchers working together to combat bioterrorism. Partners in the center include Emory University's Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center, the Medical College of Georgia, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Tech, and the University of Georgia. Participating governmental agencies include the U.S.

The $30-million Lockheed Martin Mississippi Space & Technology Center is being developed by a partnership of Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin, NASA, and the State of Mississippi. Located at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, the 220,000-sf facility will create an estimated 270 jobs. The project is being funded by $30 million in state and county funds and an additional $30 million from Lockheed Martin.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), an agency created last year to manage airline security, is seeking 400,000 sf of office space by the end of August 2002 for its headquarters. Sites under consideration are in D.C. and Northern Virginia, where there are limited options for such a large space. The relocation could happen by the end of 2002. The TSA currently employs 3,000 personnel, a figure expected to increase with federal budget reallocations.

The $100-million contract for the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center's first construction sequence was awarded to Centex Construction. Located underground on the Capitol's east grounds, the center will be completed in several phases. The project team includes architect RTKL Associates and construction manager Gilbane Building.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning to expand its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Eastern hub at North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus. The expansion will be housed in Venture Center IV, the final building master planned for Venture Center. Developed by Craig Davis Properties, the five-story, $125-million facility will begin construction this year with occupancy in late 2003. Venture IV will contain 110,000 nsf of rentable space.

Construction services for the first phase of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. will be provided by Centex Construction’s mid-Atlantic division. The center, located underground on the East Front of the Capitol, will require a 196,000-sf excavation and will house 580,000 sf on three levels upon completion in 2005. Centex’s contract is scheduled to be fulfilled by early 2004.  

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Program is planning to consolidate operations with the construction of a new 65,000-sf headquarters on North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus. The $13.5-million facility will include an outdoor learning laboratory and is expected to begin construction in the fourth quarter of 2002.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has chosen Ai, a District of Columbia architectural firm, to design a 422,000-sf office expansion at its 370,000-sf Virginia Square campus. The $111-million project will more than double the FDIC's Arlington facilities and will replace four leased D.C. offices.

Union Station Telecom Center, currently a tech-driven data center, will be renovated and repositioned to attract a government tenant. The 442,000-sf data center, a 51-year-old former warehouse and department store distribution center, is being developed by Tishman Real Estate Services. Floor layout and the amount of usable office space may change, and additional security measures for government requirements may be added. A call for architects to design the project has been issued.  

Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is proposing to build a biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) pathogen research facility for the study of hazardous airborne diseases. Construction costs for the three-lab, 1,100-sf building could reach $1.5-million. Completion could be expected as early as 2003. Lawrence Livermore and New Mexico's Los Alamos Laboratory are the first Department of Energy labs to seek permission to study these pathogens.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has recently contracted the Korth Cos. of the District of Columbia to renovate the 58,000-sf interior of the Office of Scientific Research and the Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals in Arlington, Va.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has selected The Orr Co. of Falls Church as development manager for its expansion in the Virginia Square neighborhood of Arlington. The expansion includes a 372,000-sf, two-tower office building and housing accommodations for 1,100 employees and contractors. 

Dynport Vaccine, a joint venture between DynCorp and pharmaceutical company Porton International, has broken ground on a three-story office in Frederick.  Dynport Vaccine, the prime systems contractor for the Department of Defense’s vaccine acquisition program, will use the facility to develop biodefense vaccines for FDA production and licensing. The building will consolidate four facilities, as well as providing Department of Defense office space.

David Grant Medical Center Vivarium at Travis Air Force Base has awarded Syska Hennessy Group Construction the contract to build a new enclosure for their outdoor animal area. The 5,300-sf, $1-million addition will provide a weatherproof, conditioned environment for clinical investigations.  

The U.S. Bureau of the Census is planning a new headquarters at Suitland Federal Center. Consolidating employees from six facilities, three of which are in the Center, the headquarters is being developed by the General Services Administration's National Capital Region (NCR) to meet the silver level of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEEDTM rating system, as well as the GSA's Design Excellence and Construction Excellence Programs.