INDIANAPOLIS — The city of Indianapolis has selected Meridiam to build a new justice complex. Under terms of the agreement, a Meridiam-led project company will finance, design, build, operate and maintain the new justice complex. The project calls for the consolidation of county jails, criminal courts, offices for the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and other related offices and agencies from disparate locations around Indianapolis. The facility will also include a 3,000-bed detention facility with on-site medical and mental health units, a 960-bed community corrections facility and surface parking. It will be situated on a site located southwest of downtown Indianapolis that was formerly occupied by a General Motors stamping plant. New York-based Meridiam is an independent investment firm specializing in the development, financing, and management of long-term public infrastructure projects.
LIVINGSTON, N.J. — Hollister Construction Services is serving as construction manager for the development of LifeTown, a facility that will provide social, therapeutic, recreational and educational programs to youths with special needs. The 47,000-square-foot project, which is slated for completion in winter 2015, will feature a variety of educational and therapeutic experiences, including a sand room and water room for tactile therapy and mock retail stores. The center of the project features Life Village, a detailed mock-up of a town square featuring functioning storefronts, including a bank, florist, food and book stores, a salon, pet shop, health-care facility, café and movie theater, as well as street crossings, a traffic light and sidewalks. All elements of LifeTown have been designed to accommodate individuals with special needs, including noise reduction and easily accessible activities and spaces. The $14 million project was designed by Rotwein & Blake Associates.
PLAINFIELD, N.J. — CBRE Group has brokered the sale of 1020 West Seventh St. in Plainfield. The 14,632-square-foot church facility sold for $1.24 million. The new owner plans to occupy the church, which includes a fellowship hall, kitchen, offices and classrooms. Charles Berger and Elli Klapper of CBRE Tri-State Investment Properties represented the seller in the transaction. Both the seller and buyer were not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology has unveiled its multi-phase expansion, renovation and sound abatement project at the college’s main campus in Flushing. Located at 86-01 23rd Ave., the project, which cost $40 million, included the installation of building envelope sound insulation, renovations, re-programming and building system upgrades to all campus components undergoing renovations. The renovated buildings include the main structure, built in 1940; 1983 classroom building built in 1983, and a two-story classroom building and a hangar with a 65-foot observation tower, both of which were built in 1997. The renovations were financed from two sources: Vaughn received grant funds totaling approximately $32 million from the Federal Aviation Administration and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; and the college invested $7 million in the project from its own funds. The project team included Ensign Engineering, John Ciardullo Associates, Stalco Construction, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, DVL Consulting Engineers, Peter George Associates and Graf & Lewent Architects.
ST. LOUIS — Hilliker Corp. has arranged a five-year lease of a 64,000-square-foot building for St. Louis Language Immersion Schools Inc. (SLLIS) in St. Louis. The federal non-profit organization, which operates a network of independent charter public schools, moved two of its schools into one building located at 3740 Marine Ave. The property, built in 1929, sits on more than an acre of land and previously served as the site of a Salvation Army. H. Meade Summers of Hilliker represented the tenant.
SELDEN, N.Y. — Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) has opened a $29.8 million William J. Lindsay Life Sciences Building in Selden. Patchogue, N.Y.-based BBS Architects served as architect, interior designer, and civil, mechanical and electrical engineer for the building, which is aiming to achieve LEED Gold certification. Approximately 5,000 students will attend classes in the new building in the spring semester beginning in January 2015. Additionally, the building will also allow for the expansion of science classes to include an additional 100 students in the spring and 300 students next fall. The project team included J. Petrocelli Contracting, Tsoi/Kobus & Associates, Greenman-Pedersen, Ysrael A. Seinuk and Bladykas Engineering. New York State and Suffolk County financed the project in equal parts.
WEBSTER GROVES, MO. — Construction has begun on a new customer electrical substation and on an underground electrical infrastructure at Webster University in Webster Groves. Kwame Building Group Inc. (KWAME) is the construction manager on the project, which will be completed in July 2016. The new substation will provide electrical capacity for future campus expansions and remove the campus from the neighboring electrical load, increasing electrical capacity for future community development. The project requires the complete shutdown of several campus facilities with minimal disruption to classes and other university activities.Phase I of the electrical distribution work is scheduled for completion by the end of October and Phase II of the electrical work is scheduled to begin by the end of 2014. William Tao & Associates is the engineer and Castle Contracting is the general contractor for the first phase of the project.
ST. LOUIS — HOK has designed a new $17 million patient care center for The University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) Colleges of Optometry and Nursing. The 48,000-square-foot facility will expand the eye-care services offered through the existing University Eye Center. The facility will also incorporate the latest technology needed to advance eye and vision research. Scheduled to open in 2016, the center will include space for campus and community partners to offer complementary healthcare services, such as dental and primary care. UMSL has the only optometry program in Missouri and one of just 21 nationwide. Funding for the new center came in part from a supplemental fee that will be assessed to optometry students. It is also funded by internal reallocations within the college and campus reserves. The improvements to the College of Optometry are the first phase of planned capital improvements for the UMSL campus.
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — Stalco Construction and Ehasz Giacalone Architects have completed the $700,000 renovation and upgrade of The Peter W. Addiego Health Sciences Library at the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. Renovations and upgrades to the two-story 12,000-square-foot building includes an improved layout design, energy-efficient building systems and new interior finishes. The project team included Stalco as the general contractor, Ehasz Giacalone Architects as interior designer, SCC Construction Management Group as construction manager and KP Professional Engineering as mechanical engineer.
ALVIN, TEXAS — The Alvin Independent School District has begun construction on Shadow Creek High School. Stantec designed the school, which will span 500,000 square feet when completed. According to Stantec, the school’s design “removes physical barriers, incorporates collaboration space and has an abundance of technology, transparency and natural light.” The school’s 2,500 students will be grouped into five learning houses, each with two learning hubs. Each hub will have 240 students and 10 teachers. The school, located 30 miles southeast of Houston, will be completed in 2016.