Research and Development

Transkaryotic Therapies Inc., based in Cambridge, is examining sites in the city to build a 200,000-sf lab and office complex, in spite of an 18-month Cambridge building moratorium currently in effect.

San Jose State University's Duncan Hall, which houses the chemistry department, will be enhanced with new state-of-the-art labs for instruction and research thanks to a $500,000 grant to the chemistry department from the Los Angeles-based W.M. Keck Foundation. The new facility in Duncan Hall will be called the W.M. Keck Core Facility for Structure and Surface Analysis.

North Carolina State University, in an alliance with Lucent Technologies, is building a new 120,000-sf facility for fiber optics applications research at the university's Centennial Campus. The Lucent Building, scheduled to open in spring 2000, will house 500 employees of the Lucent Technologies Optical Networking Group.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has a new $30 million, 108,380-sf biomedical research facility under construction. The Neuroscience Research Building will accommodate the School of Medicine's Neurosciences Center and the Animal Model Center. The new structure, which replaces the old Biological Sciences Research Center, is scheduled to open in October 2000. HDR Inc., of Alexandria, Va., is the architect for the project. The general contractor is Metric Construction/J.A. Jones.

US Food and Drug Administration's Phase II consolidation includes a new headquarters at the 700-acre site of the former Naval Surface Warfare Center in Montgomery County, Md. Pending approval of an advance $101,239,000 appropriation in the fiscal 2001 budget, construction would begin in fall 2000 on the new 111,250-sf Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Laboratories. The design for a new lab and office for the Center for Devices and Radiological Health would be included in the appropriation as well.

Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines and Pediatrics plans to produce two new vaccines at its plant in Sanford. Part of the existing 160,000-sf facility will be renovated and a 46,400-sf addition will be built. Wyeth-Lederle has awarded a contract for renovation of three of the labs to InServ's Construction Services Group. The total project cost is $48 million, most of which will purchase new equipment needed for the vaccine products. Wyeth-Lederle is a division of American Home Products Corp.

Novartis Institute for Functional Genomics is under construction at the company's new 16-acre West Coast campus in San Diego. Phased construction is planned with a December 2001 completion date. The six-building research facility will accommodate 350,000 sf of lab and office space. The architect for the project is NBBJ, San Francisco, Architecture Design Planning. San Diego's DPR Construction Inc. is the builder.

Paradigm Genetics Inc. opened in March a new 20,000-sf Gene-Function Factory at their $25 million Center for Functional Genomics Research in RTP. The building houses six plant growth rooms with indirect lighting, as well as labs and offices. A second 50,000-sf structure is under construction with completion anticipated in fall 2000. It accommodates growth rooms, labs, offices, and a natural-light greenhouse. A 32,000-sf third building is scheduled to open in October 2000.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. has plans for a 227,000-sf expansion at its headquarters in Hercules. The biotechnology company, which manufactures medical equipment, is expanding its life science division which supplies genomic and proteomic products to research organizations and universities. Additional offices, R&D space, and possibly a commons building are included in the project. Bio-Rad's 67-acre site could accommodate yet another 757,000 sf of construction should that become necessary.

Aventis SA, based in Strasbourg, France, is expanding its Genomics Center in Cambridge. Completion of the $3 million renovation, which will improve lab and office space at the pharmaceutical company, is anticipated in mid-July. Kennedy & Rossi Inc. of Lexington, Mass., is in charge of the project.

Nortel Networks Corp., based in Toronto, Canada, has plans to expand its 837,000-sf seven-building campus in Santa Clara with two six-story towers. The added 636,000 sf could accommodate approximately 2,000 employees engaged in R&D of technology. Pending approval by the planning commission and the city in May, ground breaking could begin in late summer.

Paul Ecke Agricultural Research Park, a 125,000-sf research facility for agricultural biotechnology companies, is seeking a major use permit from the Encinitas Planning Commission. If approved, construction would begin with a 50,000-sf laboratory building on a ten-acre site adjacent to the Ecke poinsettia ranch. San Diego, Calif.-based McGraw/Baldwin Architects Inc. designed the facility. Greenhouses are also planned for the site and all lab buildings will have greenhouse windows.

Laboratories for the 21st CenturySeptember 6-8, 2000Renaissance Parc 55 HotelSan Francisco, California

Nortel Networks has finished renovating its 76,000-sf office and R&D facility in Andover. The $1.7 million project was carried out by Spaulding & Slye Colliers of Boston.

Fox Chase Cancer Center has plans for two new centralized scientific facilities to study genomics and bioinformatics. Grants from the Pew Charitable Trusts of Philadelphia and the Rippel Foundation of New Jersey will help to fund the projects.