ATLANTA — The Georgia State University Foundation has purchased 3.8 acres at 188 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Atlanta from an undisclosed party for $6.6 million. The school plans to construct a football practice facility on the site in anticipation of its new football team. The property will include a 100-yard artificial turf field and a 50-yard natural grass field. Space for offices, meeting rooms, a locker room and a weight room will be incorporated into the design. A groundbreaking date has not been set, but officials hope to deliver the property by next fall. The Georgia State Panthers will start Division 1-AA play in 2010.
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis-based Clayco, as designer/builder, has broken ground on the new 150,875-square-foot Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer Hall building on the northeast corner of Washington University’s Danforth Campus in St. Louis. The $60 million building will be devoted to state-of-the-art teaching, and research in energy and environmental engineering for Washington University’s School of Engineering & Applied Science. When the facility is completed in 2010, it will house the School of Engineering’s Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering. Additionally, the building will provide space for the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy & Sustainability, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The four-story structure, which has been designed to achieve LEED-Gold certification, will include 34 labs and a vivarium. Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer Hall is the first phase of the School of Engineering’s master plan that calls for approximately 600,000 square feet of new space.
ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. — Cranbury, N.J.-based Sweetwater Construction Corp. has been selected to provide pre-construction and construction management services for the development of a 33,000-square-foot veterinary specialty and emergency trauma center in Robbinsville. Situated on 3 acres at 315 Robbinsville-Allentown Rd., the $9 million facility will serve primary care veterinarians throughout the region. It is replacing the existing Veterinary Surgical & Diagnostic Specialists facility, a 5,200-square-foot practice located in Millstone, N.J. The new facility, which does not have a formal name yet, will contain a Level 1 trauma center, four surgical suites, an MRI machine, a CT scanner, a radiology treatment center and quarantine areas. It will also feature separate wards for cats and dogs, a dog-walking portico, and the ability to treat farm and exotic animals. Constructed on the site of a former farmhouse, the new facility will preserve 200-year old trees presently on the property, as well as use elements of the old farmhouse in the new construction. The facility was designed by Conshohocken, Pa.-based Jeffrey L. Grogan Architects. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2009, with the facility’s grand opening scheduled for May 2010.
NEW YORK CITY — The New York City School Construction Authority has awarded Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.-based DMR Architects an $8 million contract to perform design work for the renovation of several New York City public schools. The architecture firm is also in the process of completing a 2-year, $5 million contract for the public school system under a separate contract. The design and construction phases are under way for the projects in the first contract. Construction consists of the replacement of all of the windows and masonry repair work at Clara Cardwell School (P.S. 308) in Brooklyn, as well as an upgrade to the auditorium and extensive masonry work at Lorraine Hansberry School (P.S. 118) in Queens. The schools to be renovated under the new contract were not released.
EAST SANDWICH, MASS. — Norwell, Mass.-based Acella Construction Corp. has completed construction of a new 16,000-square-foot dormitory for Riverview School in East Sandwich. Known as the Janse-Butler House, the facility will accommodate 36 middle and high school students, as well as six staff members. The dorm will also be handicap accessible. CMG Architects provided design services for the project. Riverview School is a coeducational, residential school situated on a 16-acre campus that houses 180 students with complex language, learning and cognitive disabilities.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based Aragon Construction has begun the renovation of the former Clearview Chelsea West Cinemas, located at 333 W. 23rd St. in New York City. The three-story, two-screen theater will serve as the cultural center for the School of Visual Arts (SVA). Construction will include the renovation of the existing basement; the upgrading of the theater’s mechanical systems, electrical systems and fire alarms; new screens and draperies; the installation of a state-of-the-art audio system; expanded stages; redesigned lighting; and the construction of a new lobby. Aragon is working on the renovation in conjunction with Laurence G. Jones Architects. Upon completion in January 2009, SVA will use the facility to host film screenings, lectures and other cultural programs.
FORT MYERS, FLA. — Gora/McGahey Associates in Architecture has entered the design phase on a renovation of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida. The 20,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1988 and is located at 3830 Evans Ave. in Fort Myers. The renovation will give the center an aquatic theme, and a mural will cover the walls and concrete floors. Target Builders has been selected as the general contractor.
EVANSTON, ILL. — Chicago-based Goettsch Partners Inc. will provide architectural services for Northwestern University’s new Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music building, which will be located on the college’s Evanston campus. The project, which will allow the school of music to consolidate all of its programs in one area, is being designed to achieve a minimum LEED-Silver certification level. The new building will house classrooms; teaching labs; academic faculty offices; teaching studies for choral, opera, piano and voice faculty; practice rooms; student lounges; administrative offices; a library; and a choral rehearsal room. Additionally, the building will feature an opera rehearsal room/black box theater and a 400-seat recital hall. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2010, with completion expected in spring 2012.
WINDERMERE, FLA. — The Orlando, Fla., office of Clancy & Theys Construction Co. has broken ground on a 98,797-square-foot elementary school in Windermere. The two-story property includes offices, classrooms, multi-purpose areas, a kitchen and a cafeteria. The $14.2 million project was designed by Orlando-based SchenkelShultz Architecture. Delivery is slated for July 2009.
BOULDER, COLO. — Mortenson Construction has been selected to construct the Visual Arts Complex on the Boulder campus of the University of Colorado. The 170,000-square-foot facility will house the CU Art Museum and the Department of Art and Art History. The CU Art Museum will provide permanent exhibition spaces, which will showcase its permanent collection, Colorado Collection. The $48.5 million complex, which is seeking LEED Gold certification, was designed by Colorado-based OZ Architecture and Boston-based KMW Architects. The new structure will replace the Sibell Wolle Fine Arts Building, which was razed in late 2007.