Research and Development

The U.S. Department of Energy broke ground in September of 2010 on a $73.2 million expansion and renovation of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Va. Construction of the Technology and Engineering Development Facility is expected to reach completion in late 2011. The laboratory will support research on nuclear physics, accelerator science, applied nuclear science and technology, and advanced superconducting radiofrequency instrumentation.

The University of Texas at El Paso is building three new facilities on its El Paso campus. A $69.2 million, 140,000-sf expansion of the Chemistry and Computer Science building will house the Biomedical Engineering and Bioinformatics Annex, the Research and Academic Data Center, the W.M. Keck Center for 3-D Innovation expansion, and the Center for Space Exploration Technology Research Propulsion Lab.

The University of Connecticut completed the 117,000-sf Cell and Genome Sciences Building in Farmington in August of 2010. The renovated building supports research in stem cell biology, genetics, computational biology, and advanced microscopy and imaging. The $52 million project features open laboratories to support collaborative interdisciplinary research as well as offices, a 100-seat auditorium, and business incubator space. The project was designed by Goody Clancy. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Pioneer Hi-Bred will build a $20 million corn research facility in Orange City, Iowa. The two-story, 25,500-sf project will be located in the Industrie Centrum development and is expected to open in spring of 2011.

Gauthier Biomedical will begin construction in January of 2011 on a 60,000-sf headquarters facility in Grafton, Ill. The two-story building will house 32,000 sf of manufacturing, engineering, and production space and 28,000 sf of office space. The building will be designed and built by Opus North of Rosemont, Ill. Completion is expected in October of 2011. Gauthier is a maker of spinal and orthopedic surgical instruments.

University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast will begin construction in spring of 2011 on a $7.6 million science building in Long Beach, Miss. The 33,580-sf facility will house biology and chemistry labs, classrooms, faculty offices, research space, and a marine science lab.

Princeton University opened the 265,000-sf Frick Chemistry Laboratory in September of 2010 in Princeton, N.J. The sustainably designed facility features self-closing fume hoods, photovoltaic panels, heat recovery, and advanced HVAC systems. The $278 million project was designed by Hopkins Architects in association with Payette. The general contractor was Turner Construction. Site work began on the project in summer of 2007.

The National Cancer Institute broke ground in September of 2010 on a $200 million satellite campus in Rockville, Md. The 575,000-sf facility is located in the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center on John Hopkins’ Montgomery County campus. Designed by HOK, the project will be built as two seven-story buildings housing a total of 2,100 employees. The general contractor is James G. Davis Construction with JBG Companies as project developer. Completion is expected in early 2013.

Oregon Freeze Dry broke ground on a manufacturing facility in Albany, Ore., in September of 2010. Supported by $21.3 million in federal stimulus funding, the $29 million project will support production of materials for ultracapacitors. Completion is expected in spring of 2012.

Enerkem broke ground on a cellulosic ethanol waste-to-fuel facility on August 31, 2010. Located in Edmonton, Alberta, the $80 million facility is created in partnership with the City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta. The plant will produce 10 MMgy of cellulosic ethanol, enough to fuel more than 400,000 vehicles annually with E5. The project will also include a research facility for the study of biomass, biofuels, and biochemicals. Completion is expected in 2011.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Jefferson Laboratories was awarded LEED Gold sustainable design certification in August of 2010. Designed by KlingStubbins, the facility was created by transforming a former chemical weapons arsenal building into the modern day research facility known as Building 50. Located in Jefferson, Ark., the seven-story tower was retrofitted to accommodate administrative, financial, and computer operations offices and support space.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new strategic plan for public health emergency preparedness in August of 2010. Designed to optimize vaccine creation and supply, the plan includes a significant investment in the Food and Drug Administration to streamline the process by which vaccines are reviewed and approved. Centers of Innovation for Advanced Development and Manufacturing would be established, and flu vaccine manufacturing would be upgraded.

Tulane University is initiating a renovation of its biomedical research laboratories in New Orleans. Supported by $13.5 million in federal stimulus funding, the project will create open interdisciplinary laboratories in 31,915 sf of existing space on three floors. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will include research suites, tissue culture rooms, collaboration space, and support.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences will build out 33,660 nsf of shell space in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute in Little Rock to house translational research laboratories. Supported by $10.4 million in federal stimulus funding, the collaborative facility will support the development of mechanism-based, molecularly-targeted novel cancer therapeutics.

Tufts University Medford will renovate 19,627 nsf of existing wet lab space to house the Collaborative Cluster in Genome Structure and Developmental Patterning. Accommodating 70 scientists, the sustainably designed research facility will be contiguous with the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. The project is supported by $9.4 million in federal stimulus funding.