MedImmune will expand its existing 361,000-sf headquarters campus in Gaithersburg, Fla., with the construction of a 250,000-sf facility. Construction of the seven-story building will begin in 2009 and reach completion in late 2011. The facility will provide pharmaceutical laboratories and offices for up to 600 employees. MedImmune is a subsidiary of AstraZeneca.
The International Polar Foundation initiated the second phase of construction at the €22 million Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station in November of 2008. The first construction phase, comprised of the exterior shell, was completed in early 2008. The 400-sm environmental research station will be officially inaugurated in February of 2009 after all interior systems have been installed and integrated. Located in Utsteinen, Antarctica, the zero-emission facility can withstand extreme temperatures and features solar panels, wind turbines, and water recycling.
Yale University’s new BSL-3 laboratory will open in early 2009. Located on the ninth floor of the School of Public Health building in New Haven, Conn., the facility will support animal and non-animal research on infectious diseases including West Nile Virus, SARS, Yellow Fever, and anthrax. The laboratory features a single-pass airflow system, waterproof ceilings, and completely sealed penetrations.
Colorado State University began building the $53 million Research Innovation Center on its Foothills campus in Fort Collins in December of 2008. Slated for completion in April of 2010, the three-story, 72,000-sf center will be sited in the Judson Harper Research Complex and will house offices, laboratories, and a biotechnology business incubator.
Medicago is initiating a $1.5 million expansion of its Quebec City manufacturing facility to support avian flu vaccine production for clinical trials. The 2,500-sf addition will include purification, storage, and cGMP vaccine manufacturing space. Construction will begin in January 2009 and reach completion by year-end 2009. Medicago’s existing building, housing 10,000-sf of BSL-2 space and 3,000-sf of cGMP manufacturing space, will begin production of an H5N1 vaccine for Phase 1 clinical trials in 2009. The new addition will house Phase 2 clinical studies.
Sandia National Laboratories broke ground on the $39.6 million Ion Beam Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., in December of 2008. The 27,000-sf facility will enable simulation of the large neutron fluxes created in nuclear explosions. Completion is expected in 2009 with research operations commencing in 2010.
The University of Kentucky began construction on an $18.6 million research facility for the College of Engineering in downtown Lexington in September of 2008. Part of the University’s Digital Village quadrangle, the Marksbury Building will support research in computer visualization, computer science, and electrical and computer engineering. Completion is slated for early 2011.
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) awarded $45 million in research funding in December of 2008. The awards will support the development of infrastructure to attract investigators to Canadian institutions. Part of the Leaders Opportunity Fund, the grants will encourage the recruitment of researchers to Canadian organizations in a highly competitive international market. For more information, visit www.innovation.ca.
Mead Johnson Nutrition broke ground on the $26.2 million Global Research and Development Technology Center in Evansville, Ind., in December of 2008. Housing pediatric nutrition research, the 30,000-sf facility will feature a pilot production spray dryer for testing trial formulations of products in powder form. Completion is expected in summer of 2010.
Biogen Idec will relocate its headquarters to a 350,000-sf facility in Weston, Ma., in 2010. Construction of the Weston facility is being managed by Boston Properties. Biogen Idec’s previous 375,000-sf headquarters in Cambridge will be converted into laboratory space.
Florida State University is planning to build the Energy and Sustainability Center in Harmony, Fla. The research facility will be sited in the 100-acre Florida Energy Research Park in the green-certified Harmony development, which will include sustainable commercial, residential, and retail facilities. Created in partnership with Starwood Energy Group and Harmony Development Company, FSU's Energy and Sustainability Center will support research and training in solar, wind, hydrogen, and biomass technologies.
Natural Resources Canada broke ground on the new CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory in Hamilton, Ontario, in December of 2008. Located in the McMaster Innovation Park, the LEED-certified facility will accommodate research and development in structural metals and alloys, materials design, pilot-scale processing, and performance evaluation. CANMET-MTL is a Government of Canada laboratory previously located in Ottawa. The new facility, created in partnership with McMaster University, will open in 2010.
Georgia State University is building the $150 million Parker H. Petit Science Teaching Laboratory in Atlanta. Designed Heery International, the 350,000-sf facility will house multidisciplinary research and instruction space for biology, chemistry, neuroscience, and the College of Health and Human Services. Completion is slated for spring of 2010.
The first phase of construction at Fusionopolis has reached completion in the One-North business park in Buona Vista, Singapore. Fusionopolis provides laboratory and office space for companies including Seiko Instruments, Panasonic, Vestas Wind Systems, and Electronic Arts. The two-building complex also houses research space for Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology, and Research.
Victoria Hospital began construction in fall of 2008 on a $4 million cancer research center in London, Ontario. Sited on the third floor of the Victoria Research Laboratories adjacent to Victoria Hospital’s cancer center, the 8,300-sf Gerald C. Baines Centre for Translational Research will house clinical research facilities, interdisciplinary research space, and an imaging laboratory. Completion is expected by early 2010.
