Research and Development

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.

The University of Chicago dedicated the renovated Searle Chemistry Laboratory on April 20, 2009. The $49 million project will support cross-disciplinary collaborative research with advanced laboratories and instrumentation. The Chemistry Department, the Computation Institute, and the Tri-Institutional Center for Chemical Methods and Library Development will be housed in the 85,000-gsf facility. The five-story building will include suites for NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry as well as cleanroom facilities.

The University of the Pacific broke ground on the $12 million John T. Chambers Technology Center in April of 2009. Located in Stockton, Calif., the 24,000-sf facility will house the School of Engineering and Computer Science. The building will include seven research and teaching laboratories, faculty offices, classrooms, conference rooms, and study areas. LEED certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project.

The University of Washington broke ground on the $36.9 million Center for Urban Waters in Tacoma, Wash., in April of 2009. The three-story multidisciplinary research facility will house water and environmental science laboratories for the University and the city of Tacoma. LEED Platinum certification will be sought for the 51,205-sf waterfront facility. The Center for Urban Waters is being developed in collaboration with Puget Sound Partnership.

Osaka University will begin construction in March of 2010 on a nanotechnology business incubator in Osaka, Japan. The construction cost of the five-story building is estimated at over one billion yen. Housing nanotechnology laboratories, the facility will provide access to equipment and instrumentation as well as promoting collaboration with University researchers and engineers. The nanotechnology incubator will house up to 24 companies.

The United States Air Force has awarded The Butt Construction Co. a $36 million contract to expand the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The design/build project includes 90,000-sf of new construction and 50,000-sf of renovation. Construction will begin in early summer of 2009 with completion slated for April of 2011. Design partners for the project include Edge and Tinney Architects, Heapy Engineering, LJB Inc., and Acoustical Systems.

Montana State University is planning to construct three new facilities to house the Northern Agricultural Research Center in Havre, Mont. The $1.8 million project will begin construction in summer of 2009 with the first facility slated for completion in early 2010. The completed Northern Agricultural Research Center will house offices, laboratories, meeting rooms, a livestock research facility, a calving barn, and a chemical handling facility.

Monash University opened its $153 million regenerative medicine research facility in Clayton, Australia, in April of 2009. Construction began on the 17,200-sm project in January of 2007. The sustainably-designed facility is comprised of two four-story buildings connected by a core structure and is part of a growing biomedical research campus.

Smart Cells International opened its cord blood stem cell facility in London in March of 2009. The advanced processing and storage laboratory will house stem cells from donors and families in a GMP-certified facility with advanced monitoring systems for air pressure, air particle count, and liquid nitrogen level in the tanks. The building also features backup power generation and a sophisticated air handling system.

Oklahoma State University will officially break ground on the Institute for Agricultural Biosciences on May 1, 2009. Located in Ardmore, the facility will support research on agricultural energy sources in collaboration with the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. The building will house administrative space, traditional and controlled environmental laboratories, greenhouses, and conference rooms for the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. LEED certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project.