Higher Education

Johnson & Wales University broke ground on February 11 on its $82-million academic center and residence halls. The five-story, 145,000-sf facility, designed by LS3P Associates, is located in Charlotte's Gateway Village. Slated to open in fall 2004, the Charlotte campus will offer Business, Culinary Arts & Hospitality associated and bachelor's degree programs. The first floor and mezzanine levels will contain a chocolate laboratory and four bakeshops.

The Ohio State University Medical Center will initiate construction on a 44,000-sf expansion of the Comprehensive Cancer Center in February 2003. The project is a vertical expansion of  the 3rd and 4th floors on top of Wiseman Hall, creating additional space for research and supporting the growing Human Cancer Genetics programs.

Cabrini College in Radnor is constructing an $18-million science, education and technology facility. Slated for completion in January 2005, the facility will provide 3,000 sf of incubator space to be leased by a biotechnology startup. Construction of the science center is expected to begin in late 2003.

The Memphis Biotech Foundation has selected Memphis firms Hnedak Bobo Group (HBG) as program manager and TRO/The Ritchie Organization as lead architect/engineer/interior designer for the first phase of the University of Tennessee/Baptist Research Park in Memphis.

The Community College of Philadelphia recently opened the Center for Business and Industry. The $29-million, three-story center houses the College's Division of Community Services and Continuing Education Programs, which provides training programs connected with business and government agencies. In addition to classrooms, the center includes a regional ACT Testing Center.

The University of San Diego has selected general contractor Douglas E. Barnhart Inc. and architect Wheeler Wimer Blackman & Associates, both of San Diego, to create the $6.3-million Degheri Alumni Center. The 30,425-sf facility, built on the site of the former Harmon Hall, is slated for completion in November 2003. The building will serve as a hospitality center and provide space for the university's communication and marketing departments, alumni relations, parent relations, and fund-raising.

Harvard Medical School has outsourced all engineering and trade functions for mechanical systems maintenance to UNICCO Service Company. Including preventative, predictive and emergency maintenance for Harvard's 19 buildings and 1.6-million sf, the contract includes utility management, facilities systems monitoring and maintenance, a 24/7 call center, work order management, automated inspections, and management reporting.

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.

North Carolina State University has awarded Shelco Inc. the $17-million contract to construct the 80,000-sf Partners Building III. Located on the Centennial Campus, the three-story building will house offices for the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences and the College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences. The project includes an adjacent 630-car parking deck.

San Diego Unified School District's High Tech High School has purchased the 38,900-sf Building 49 at Liberty Station in Point Loma. Buildings 36, 37 and 51 will be acquired by summer of 2003, bringing the school's total square footage to 93,107. Located on the site of the former Naval Training Facility, High Tech High School, a public charter school, will occupy 22 of Liberty Station's 361 acres. The site redeveloper is Corky McMillin Cos. of National City.

The state of Texas has selected Cadence McShane Corporation of Austin to construct Texas A&M University's new 52,000-sf Performing Arts Center in Corpus Christi. The 1,500-seat, three-level concert hall will feature a 50-foot glass wall facing Corpus Christi Bay and is slated for completion in summer of 2004.

Delaware Valley College is partnering with the Hepatitis B Foundation to create a new biotechnology research complex on the college's Doylestown campus. The project, slated to open in fall 2004, will encompass two developments.

North Carolina Central University in Durham is considering an expansion of its 40,000-sf Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute. An additional facility, a mirror image of the existing building, would be sited on an adjacent parking lot. The expansion would enable the University to double its 32-member biotech staff.

Carnegie Mellon University has selected Architectural Resources Group of San Francisco and Turner Construction of San Jose to renovate facilities on NASA's Moffett Field in Mountain View. The University will expand its West Coast campus with 19,000 sf in buildings 23 and 24 of the Shenandoah Plaza quadrangle. The 70-year-old, six-building complex is listed on the state historic register.

The 30,000-sf Imagine It! Children’s Museum will open March 1, 2003 next to Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. Designed by Atlanta architectural firm Stang & Nedow, the $4.3-million facility will house 16,000-sf of interactive exhibits.