Higher Education

The University of Hawaii is developing two new projects for its College of Tropical Agriculture. The Komohana Agricultural Complex in Hilo will be renovated and improved to house state-of-the-art labs, offices, greenhouses, and support spaces. Completion of the $14.5-million facility is slated for August 2007. In Molokai, a permanent facility will be constructed for the Molokai Extension Program which currently operates out of a renovated farm building. The $1.1-million project is expected to reach completion in March 2007.

The University of Texas Medical School at Houston broke ground in April 2005 on a new 208,500-sf research facility. The six-story, $78-million project will house four floors of research programs in neurobiology, the molecular biology of human pathogens, structural biology, and physiological genomics/systems biology. The top two floors of the facility will house a new animal care center to replace the one destroyed by Tropical Storm Allison in 2001.

The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque opened its new $1.2-million mass spectrometry facility in April 2005. Located in the School of Chemistry, the facility will accommodate chemical and medical research. Funding for the project came from twelve entities in the University of New Mexico and the National Institutes of Health.

The University of Missouri St. Louis is constructing a $26 million, five-story residence hall. Designed by Lotti Krishan & Short of Tulsa, Okla., the 431-bed dormitory will house two- and four-bedroom suites. The project contractor is Kozeny-Wagner of Arnold, Mo.

Temple University in Philadelphia is planning $400 million in construction projects on its main campus. Slated for completion over the next five years, the projects include a $67 million addition to the Fox School of Business and Management; a new $75 million facility for the Tyler School of Art; a $16 million technology center; a $150 million medical school; and renovation of 495,000 sf of science lab facilities.

Stanford University will begin construction in July 2006 on a new science and engineering complex at its Palo Alto, Calif., campus. Set on 8.2 acres of land, the project will consist of four new buildings including an environment and energy facility, a bioengineering/chemical engineering facility, a new School of Engineering center, and a replacement for the E.L. Ginzton lab building. Construction cost for the 550,000-sf project is estimated at between $375 and $420 million. The environment and energy facility will be the first to break ground.

The University of Cincinnati has selected Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership (ZGF) as design architect for its new 200,000-sf Social and Behavioral Sciences Center for the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. Cincinnati architectural firm Baxter, Hodell, Donnelly, Preston (BHDP) is serving as executive architect. The new center, located on a gateway site adjacent to McMicken Commons, will provide new learning rooms, research space, and faculty/staff offices in a new "flagship" building for the College.  

The University of South Florida is developing the Crosley Campus Center on its Sarasota-Manatee campus. The 96,000-sf facility will accommodate training facilities for the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management; a 190-seat lecture hall; computer labs; seminar and video-conferencing rooms; 24 classrooms; a daycare center; faculty offices; a technology center; and dining facilities.

The Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is planning to construct a 35,000-sf patient care facility and adjacent 10,000-sf surgical center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The project will triple research, patient care, and educational space for the eye institute, which is a unit of the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine. The facility will accommodate over 90,000 patient visits annually.

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is constructing Building One in Portland, Ore. The 400,000-sf, $145-million facility will house research laboratories, classrooms, outpatient practices, and a wellness center. Slated to open in mid-2006, the 16-story facility will be linked to the main OHSU campus by an overhead tram.

Wichita State University is planning to relocate its westside campus to a new 24,000-sf facility in Wichita. Slated for completion by year-end 2005, classes are expected to begin in January 2006. The new facility will house 13 classrooms and several labs, tripling the footprint of the current location. The project architect is Curt McNay with Randy Cunningham as general contractor.

Clark University will dedicate the new Cathy '83 and Marc '81 Center for Bioscience on April 28, 2005. Designed by Tsoi/Kobus and Associates of Cambridge, the 50,000-sf facility houses two classrooms; twelve research labs; seven teaching labs; two conference rooms; fourteen faculty offices; a sequencing facility; a dark room; and three lounges.

Princeton University has awarded Parsippany, N.J.-based Skanska USA Building the construction management services assignment to build the Peter B. Lewis Science Library in Princeton, N.J. The anticipated value of the high-technology project is expected to be more than $50 million. Designed by Gehry Partners, the 88,000-sf project will consolidate the Geosciences, Chemistry, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Molecular Biology book collections.

Cleveland State University has selected Gilbane's Cleveland district office as construction manager for a new 135,000-sf recreation center with the goal of obtaining a LEEDTM  silver certification. The $24 million facility will include numerous weight and fitness areas; three basketball courts; two racquetball courts; a running track; juice bar; administrative areas; and underground parking. Estimated completion is scheduled for 2006.

The University of Louisville is developing the Gheens Foundation Biosensor Reseach Center in Louisville. Funded by a $1.5 million pledge from the Gheens Foundation, the center will conduct biosensor research to create new devices and enable existing heart devices to function more compatibly with the human body. The research center will be part of the new $27.6 million Cardiovascular Innovation Institute (CII), a partnership between the University of Louisville and Jewish Hospital .