MANHATTAN, KAN. — Minneapolis-based Opus Northwest has been selected to design and construct a building for Kansas State University’s (KSU) School of Leadership Studies, which will be located on the college’s main campus in Manhattan. The $11 million project, which has been designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, is being privately funded under the auspices of the KSU Foundation. The two-story, 36,000-square-foot building will house the university’s School of Leadership Studies as well as the Cargill Center for Ethical Leadership. In addition to classrooms, seminar rooms and offices for faculty and student organizations, the facility will feature a 220-seat town hall auditorium, six open meeting spaces and an Info Café. Opus Architects & Engineers Inc. is providing architecture and engineering services. Treanor Architects served as the design and programming consultant for the project. Construction is slated for completion in December.
WEST ORANGE, N.J. — The Gale Construction Company has completed a 13,000-square-foot addition and renovation at Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex & Union, located at 118 Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange. Construction consisted of a new addition at the school’s entrance that includes offices and a three-story glass tower. Interior renovations included a new security station, administrative office spaces and science labs. Construction had previously been completed, but a garbage truck collided into the facility soon afterward, causing the need to repair the exterior and the new science labs before the start of the fall term. The project architect was Livingston, N.J.-based Rotwein & Blake Associated Architects. Gale Construction is a subsidiary of Mack-Cali Realty Corp.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Arlington, Va.-based Paradigm Development Co. is slated to break ground on a 140,000-square-foot student housing facility in the NoMa neighborhood of Washington. The $38 million project has the capacity to house 345 students in 95 units. Amenities in the units include shared kitchens, living rooms and laundry facilities. Delivery is expected in August 2010.
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — The Dallas office of Omniplan has been selected to design the new $25 million O’Connor Business Building for the Corpus Christi campus of Texas A&M University. The 76,000-square-foot building will be located next to Lee Plaza and will house the university’s College of Business. It will include classrooms, computer labs, executive education facilities, business incubators, and faculty and administrative offices. The building features a two-story lobby with a sculptural staircase, a bridge connecting second-floor spaces, an electronic stock ticker, video monitors tuned to business networks, and a second-level balcony that can accommodate student study space or reception space for the building’s multi-purpose room. The project is applying for LEED-Silver certification. Construction will begin in summer 2009, with completion scheduled for fall 2010.
GAGES LAKE, ILL. — Elgin, Ill.-based IHC Construction has been selected to complete a $22.5 million project for the Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOLC) in Gages Lake. The project includes the construction of a new $18.6 million Laremont-Ureche School at the Gages Lake campus. Additionally, the project calls for a $3.9 million renovation to the existing Gages Lake/Laremont School and the Sally Potter School at the Mundelein, Ill., campus. The 78,000-square-foot, single-story Laremont-Ureche School will house 20 classrooms, as well as a multi-purpose gym, physical therapy rooms, a sensory room, a library, a computer lab, a nurse station, a therapy pool and locker rooms. All classrooms will have a ceiling-mounted human lift system for wheelchair-bound students. Construction is scheduled to begin in March, with completion slated for August 2010. Barrington, Ill.-based RuckPate Architecture is providing design services for the project.
EDISON, N.J. — Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.-based DMR Architects has been selected to design a new academic building at Middlesex County College in Edison. The building will be located on Blue Colt Drive at one of the college’s main entrances. It will total two stories and 36,000 square feet; it will feature classrooms, computer labs, administrative offices, a culinary demonstration lab, kitchen facilities and meeting rooms. The $11 million project is also applying for LEED-Silver certification. The project is expected to go out for bidding in June, with construction expected to begin in August.
KISSIMMEE, FLA. — Tilt-Con Corp. of Orlando, Fla., has finished construction of the 53,893-square-foot Osceola County Joint Communication Emergency Operations Center in Kissimmee. Located at 2588 Partin Settlement Rd., the two-story property features a chiller yard and command vehicle shelter. The center was designed by Winter Park, Fla.-based Architects Design Group.
LAS VEGAS — CORE Construction—Nevada, serving as general contractor, has broken ground on the Ralph and Betty Engelstad School of Health Sciences, which is located at 6375 W. Charleston Blvd. on the campus of the College of Southern Nevada. The 10,000-square-foot facility will house the college’s Cardiorespiratory Sciences Program. The $3.99 million project is slated for completion in June 2010. SH Architecture is providing architectural services for the project.
BIG CYPRESS, FLA. — Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Gulf Building Corp. has completed construction on the 50,000-square-foot Public Safety Complex in Big Cypress. The $16 million property is located on Josie Billie Highway and will house fire and police personnel and a U.S. Post Office. The building features a bay for emergency vehicles, dormitories, kitchens, break rooms, a gym and training rooms. Gulf Building constructed the property to withstand Category 5 winds.
ST. LOUIS — The Center for Emerging Technologies (CET) has plans to construct a 60,000-square-foot laboratory building on a site adjacent to its existing two-building campus in St. Louis. Monsanto Co. has donated $1 million to help fund the $28 million project. Monsanto’s commitment is part of $3 million in private contributions needed for Phase I of the building, with an additional $6 million in contributions needed to complete the innovation center. Upon completion, the facility will feature 60 percent wet labs, with space for transitional research and a pilot plant. CET supports life science and other advanced technology companies with a range of research and development labs and support services. St. Louis-based Cannon Design is the architect for the project. The estimated date of completion was not disclosed.