Research and Development

GE Aviation will begin construction in June of 2014 on a $100 million jet engine production facility in Lafayette, Ind. Accommodating up to 200 employees, the 225,000-sf project will feature advanced assembly line technologies including radio frequency parts management and automated visual inspection services. The facility will support production of the new CFM International LEAP engine and is strategically sited to foster collaboration with Purdue University. Occupancy is expected in 2016.

Novartis opened a $200 million facility in Singapore in April of 2014. Located in the Tuas Biomedical Park, the 330,000-sf building will accommodate pharmaceutical manufacturing operations for Novartis’ Alcon eye care division. The facility will support the production of drugs for glaucoma, allergies, and other conditions.

Pfizer opened the $30 million New Product Technology Laboratory in May of 2014 in Ireland. Located at Pfizer’s Ringaskiddy campus, the facility will produce advanced therapeutics for cancer, high cholesterol, and related health conditions.

The University of Colorado is planning to renovate an existing facility in Boulder to accommodate life sciences research. Providing vivarium and laboratory space, the 60,000-sf facility will enable several animal research programs to be consolidated in a single location. The cost of the purchasing the property is $7.5 million and the University will invest $10.4 million to renovate the building. Construction is expected to begin in spring of 2015 with occupancy in the fall.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology will begin construction in summer of 2015 on the $350 million MIT.nano in Cambridge. The 200,000-sf interdisciplinary project is being designed by Wilson Architects to accommodate advanced research in nanoscale materials and processes. The four-story facility will include one floor of teaching labs and two interconnected cleanroom lab floors with prototyping areas, fabrication suites, materials growth labs, and support.

Texas A&M University broke ground on a $120 million expansion and renovation of the Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences Education Complex in late April of 2014 in College Station. Designed by SHW Group, the project includes construction of a 330,000-sf facility providing flexible classrooms and laboratories for teaching and research. The existing Small Animal Hospital will also be renovated and expanded. The $93 million construction contract has been awarded to Skanska USA Building and completion is expected in April of 2016.

Vanderbilt University broke ground in May of 2014 on the $109 million Science and Engineering Building in Nashville, Tenn. The seven-story, 230,000-sf facility will be physically connected by a two-story atrium to the adjacent Olin Hall. Designed by Wilson Architects, the interdisciplinary building will include a cleanroom, advanced imaging facilities, research labs, a student commons, and the Innovation Center to support technology transfer and commercialization.

The University of Washington is planning to build the Animal Research and Care Facility in Seattle. The two-story, subterranean building will provide flexible housing for rodents, pigs, dogs, and non-human primates. Providing approximately 83,000 gsf below grade and 3,000 gsf above grade, the facility will include laboratories, procedure rooms, imaging suites, cage and equipment wash, storage, and other support spaces. The $123.5 million project will consolidate the University’s existing animal research operations into one centralized facility.

Idaho National Lab dedicated the Energy Innovation Laboratory in April of 2014. Located on the Idaho Falls Research and Education Campus, the 148,000-sf facility features reconfigurable laboratories for research on clean energy, advanced materials, nuclear science, and electrical grid management. The three-story project will support collaboration with industry partners and includes a conference center. Idaho National Lab is funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) and is managed by Battelle Energy Alliance.

Southern Research Institute, in collaboration with Galveston National Laboratory, announced in April of 2014 that they have developed a semi-automated high-throughput screening (HTS) platform that is capable of testing 10,000 compounds per day within BSL-4 biocontainment conditions. The methodology was developed studying the Nipah virus and may contribute to the successful identification of compounds with antiviral activity.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Washburn University broke ground in April of 2014 on the $55 million KBI Forensic Science Center in Topeka. The three-story, 100,000-sf facility will house the state crime laboratory and space for the departments of chemistry, toxicology, biology, DNA, firearm/tool mark, trace evidence, latent prints, and digital forensics. Supporting Washburn University’s programs in forensic chemical science, criminal justice, and forensic anthropology, the building will include classrooms, labs, and offices.

MPI Research opened the 10,000-sf Translational Imaging Center in May of 2014 in Mattawan, Mich. Created in partnership with 3D Imaging and inviCRO, the two-story facility will support advanced drug discovery research by providing molecular imaging, autoradiography, and animal modeling in a single location. The project is designed to expedite the translation of preclinical data into clinical data to mitigate risk in the pharmaceutical development process and includes a cyclotron and a vivarium.

The University of Chicago is building the $215 million William Eckhardt Research Center for the Institute for Molecular Engineering. The 265,000-sf facility will house the 12,000-sf Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility and laboratories for astronomy, chemistry, physics, and astrophysics. Providing integrated research offices, conference rooms, interaction space, and an atrium, the seven-story project includes two floors below grade with low-vibration cleanrooms and molecular imaging suites. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Procter & Gamble (P&G) opened the Singapore Innovation Center in April of 2014. The facility features 250 laboratories housing approximately 500 investigators engaged in materials science, engineering, and biomedical R&D. The project includes a pilot manufacturing plant to support accelerated product development and a 3D printing suite for the creation of packaging. The LEED Silver facility is a zero-waste site and has attained Green Mark sustainable design certification.

Cubresa introduced a compact, affordable SPECT scanner for preclinical research in early 2014. The scanner attaches to existing small animal CT systems, transforming them into multi-modality molecular imaging systems for disease study, translational research, and drug discovery applications. The product features a slim bore which positions the imaging detectors close to the animal subject, optimizing spatial resolution. Advanced detector technology improves sensitivity to balance radiation dose with accelerated study throughput.