Research and Development

National University of Ireland, Maynooth broke ground on a €15m research building in May of 2009. Located on the North Campus, the 4,500-sm facility will house the National Centre for Geocomputation, the National Institute for Research and Spatial Analysis, and An Foras Feasa, the Institute for Research in Irish Historical and Cultural Traditions. The project will accommodate 350 students and 200 academic staff and researchers and is slated for completion in June of 2010. The building will include interdisciplinary research space and a 350-seat lecture hall.

Florida Atlantic University will initiate construction in spring of 2010 on the Harbor Branch Research Laboratory II in St. Lucie, Fla. Designed by PGAL with RFD (Research Facilities Design) as laboratory design consultant, the 40,000-gsf project will house research labs, lab support, and offices. The facility will provide 16,500-nsf of state-of-the-art laboratory space and will be built to meet LEED Silver sustainable design criteria.

Texas A&M University will begin construction on a new campus in Killeen in fall of 2010. Sited on 672 acres, Texas A&M University-Central Texas will be built on land transferred from the U.S. Army. Completion of the first 150,000-sf classroom and office building is slated for late 2011. The project will enable Tarleton State University to become part of the A&M system. Tarleton State University will change its name to Texas A&M University-Central Texas and will issue $25 million in bonds to fund construction of the new campus.

Roche opened a $4.4 million pharmaceutical research facility in Madison, Wis., in April of 2009. The project involved renovation of a 24,000-sf building in the University of Madison Research Park to house R&D laboratories for the study of RNA interference and gene therapy. The facility will house 45 employees.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is building the $105 million Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Md. Housing BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 laboratories for select agent and infectious disease research, the IRF will provide 11,125-sf of secure research space for 30 investigators. The building will feature PET, CT, MRI, and X-ray scanners to study the effects of infectious diseases on primates. The construction manager for the project is Gilbane Building Company.

The Department of Energy will break ground in May of 2009 on a neutrino laboratory near International Falls, Minn. Housing physics research for Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the University of Minnesota, the $250 million facility is supported by $40.1 million funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The facility will be named NuMI Off-Axis Electron Neutrino Appearance and will include a neutrino detector and laboratory sunk 40 feet below ground.

President Barack Obama pledged to direct three percent of the United States’ gross domestic product to scientific research and development at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences in April of 2009. The $420 billion in funding will support research in areas such as the space program, sustainable energy, software development, and advanced prosthetics.

Imperial College London, in partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS, broke ground on a £99 million biomedical research facility in April of 2009. Slated for completion in late 2011, the six-story building will be part of the planned Academic Health Science Center in London. Housing 450 researchers, the facility will provide laboratories for translational research in cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes, and obesity.

St. Andrews Biological Station will begin construction in May of 2009 on an $18 million wet lab facility in St. Andrews, N.B., Canada. The 2,895-sm project will be built by Maricon Construction Management of Saint John. The marine research and development facility will consolidate the Biological Station’s laboratory facilities and will house freshwater and saltwater labs. A 4,500-sf science building housing offices, analytical labs, a computer center, and a library, will also be constructed at the site. Completion is expected in 2012.

South Dakota State University is building the $51 million Avera Health and Science Center in Brookings, S.D. Created in partnership with Avera Health, the 144,000-sf facility is comprised of 96,000-sf of new construction and 48,000-sf of renovated space. Housing the College of Pharmacy and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the center will provide classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, and faculty offices. Construction began on the Avera Health and Science Center in June of 2008. The facility will open in fall of 2010.

Wayne State University's College of Engineering opened the $28 million Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center (EDC) in Detroit in April of 2009. The 82,500-sf facility provides research, development, and engineering facilities to support discoveries in alternative energy, nanotechnology, biotechnology, smart sensors, and advanced propulsion. Designed to foster industry partnerships, the three-story multidisciplinary facility features modular labs and group research areas. LEED Silver certification will be sought for the project.

The University of British Columbia will begin construction in mid-2010 on the $75 million Earth Systems Science Building in Vancouver. Funded by $37.5 million from the Government of British Columbia, the 14,570-sm facility will house technology-rich teaching and research labs, classrooms, lecture halls, seminar rooms, and a museum.

The University of Utah broke ground in April of 2009 on the $130 million James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building in Salt Lake City. Anchoring the University’s new Interdisciplinary Quadrangle, the 200,000-sf research facility will feature advanced imaging and nanotechnology laboratories and a 20,000-sf nanofabrication suite. Comprised of five stories, one below grade, the facility will house flexible open labs and four specialty core labs for small animal imaging, biomedical microscopy, engineering microscopy, and nanofabrication.

Pfizer dedicated its newly renovated laboratory and office facility in Kalamazoo, Mich., in April of 2009. The 780,000-sf project will serve as the global headquarters for Pfizer’s animal genetics and veterinary medicine R&D operations. Housing 680 employees, the $75 million project will consolidate staff from Richland Township, Pa., and Sandwich, U.K.

The University of Kansas will break ground in summer of 2009 on a 20,000-sf bioscience incubator in Lawrence. Supported by $8 million from the Lawrence-Douglas County Bioscience Authority, the business incubator will house wet laboratories for life sciences research. Occupancy is expected in 2010.