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Medical research facilities tops in Houston market
From logistics hubs to company headquarters, from river improvements to a diesel lab and a hotel and conference center—there are plenty of projects under way across the state.
Texas Medical Center Construction Progressing Toward 2010 Opening
Construction of the Methodist Hospital’s new $331 million Outpatient Care Center is on track with Hensel Phelps Construction Co.’s recent placement of two large structural foundation mat slabs of 4,000 and 6,000 cu yds, respectively.
Under construction within the Texas Medical Center in Houston and located on a half-block site surrounded by existing buildings, the center consists of a 24-story facility on the former site of Methodist’s Diagnostical Clinical Center that was imploded to make way for the new tower. The 1.6-million-sq-ft building, including parking for 1,370 cars, centralizes the majority of outpatient medical programs for this 1,000-bed teaching and research hospital.
The facility houses such services as MRI, PET CT, nuclear medicine, radiology, radiation therapy, outpatient surgery, medical oncology and cardiac diagnostics. It is designed for future expansion.
Designed by WHR Architects of Houston, the center was conceived with the patient experience as its central, conceptual focus. Construction features include all cast-in-place concrete with precast and curtain-wall skin.
A four-lane drive through the building at street level will connect the Texas Medical Center with Rice University, which is located immediately to the west.
Construction is scheduled for completion in early 2010.
Medical Research Facility Started in Houston
Construction started in the spring on a new imaging research facility as a collaborative effort of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
The Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research, dedicated to developing technologies that will detect heart disease, cancer and other illnesses at their earliest stages, will be located at the University of Texas Research Park. GE Healthcare and the Texas Enterprise Fund are assisting with the project, which will be completed in late 2009.
The imaging research center is the fourth building to be constructed and one of six centers that will comprise M.D. Anderson's Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer. The McCombs Institute is located on the UT Research Park.
The six-story, 315,000-sq-ft building, which is in the Texas Medical Center, will accommodate research laboratories. The building will also house UT-Houston's new Department of Biomedical Engineering.
The McCombs Institute will be home to nearly 25 percent of M. D. Anderson’s research activities when completed in 2011. Architect for the project is Watkins, Hamilton, Ross of Houston and construction manager at risk is Hensel Phelps of Houston.
UT-Houston soon will break ground on three additional buildings in the UT Research Park. These facilities will include a new Neuroscience Center, a $42 million Biomedical Research and Education Center for stem-cell discoveries and a new home for the UT Dental Branch (completion estimated for 2010). The new dental school likely will cost at least $90 million.
Construction Under way for Rice University Medical Research Building
Construction continues to progress on the $200 million to $300 million Rice University Collaborative Research Center in Houston – the first LEED-certified project in Houston for Houston-based Linbeck.
The project, which encompasses a 480,000-sq-ft building to be built on a fast-track schedule, should be completed first quarter 2009. Construction started in December.
The Collaborative Research Center is designed to encourage communication and collaboration and contribute to greater cooperation among health-care professionals.
Plans call for eight floors of research laboratories in a tower atop a base platform that will include a 280-seat auditorium, 100-seat seminar room, classrooms, 10,000 sq ft of retail space, other common space and three levels of underground parking. The building is being designed to accommodate up to 150,000 additional sq ft for future expansion.
Texas Medical Center institutions participating in the CRC include Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
In addition to Linbeck, the team includes Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Houston as the executive and design architect; FKP Architects of Houston as the local associate architect; BR+A of Los Angeles as MEP; and Haynes Whaley of Houston as structural engineers.
Construction Started on $71 Million Hotel and Conference Center
The city of San Marcos and Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts LLC broke ground in the spring on a new $21 million city conference center and $50 million Embassy Suites Hotel at Interstate 35 and McCarty Lane.
The hotel will be owned by John Q. Hammons and managed by John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts. The conference center will be owned by the city and managed by the company. With an anticipated opening in October 2008, the 10-story full-service hotel and 77,300-sq-ft conference center will be the first facility of its kind in San Marcos and will accommodate a wide range of conferences and exhibitions.
The hotel and conference center will be accessible from Texas State University, which has a student population of 27,500. The City Council created a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone in March 2006 to pledge tax revenue from the project to reimburse construction cost of the conference center. The zone will last 25 years.
In November, Hays County agreed to participate in the tax zone. The council approved a master development agreement in March 2006 and the city hired Austin-based Broaddus & Associates as project manager, Lohmeyer-Russell Architects of Springfield, Mo., to design the conference center in conjunction with the hotel, and later Austin-based Flintco as the design-build general contractor.
The conference center will feature 40,000 sq ft of meeting space with flexible configurations to range from a 28,000-sq-ft grand ballroom and 7,000-sq-ft junior ballroom to 19 meeting rooms and a 4,000-sq-ft outdoor veranda.
Fast-Tracked Construction Leads to Eight-Month Completion
In just eight months, Dallas-based Koll Development Co. completed the new 108,000-sq-ft, build-to-suit customer operations center for Madison, Wis.,-based CUNA Mutual Group, the world’s largest provider of financial services to credit unions.
Located at 4950 Amon Carter Blvd. in the Campus at CentrePort in Fort Worth, the new facility broke ground in August. It features the latest in technology.
CUNA Mutual moved approximately 140 employees from its temporary space into the new building with the capacity to accommodate 800 employees.
The facility initially will house CUNA Mutual’s customer service operations for the collateral protection insurance product it provides to more than 4,300 credit unions and the LoanLink Center, a lending contact center.
The technology and work processes developed at the Fort Worth location will be implemented at other CUNA Mutual customer service centers in Madison, Wis. and Waverly, Iowa.
KDC’s project team included Mike Kay, Rob Marsh, Baron Aldrine and Chris Hook with CB Richard Ellis’ Call Center Solutions Group; Corgan Associates as the exterior architect; and Atlanta-based Idea/Span as the interior architect. Dallas-based Cadence McShane served as the shell contractor and Dallas-based Precept Builders constructed the interiors.
The addition of CUNA Mutual brings occupancy at KDC’s Campus at CentrePort to more than 95 percent. The CentrePort development was built in 1980 and is a master-planned, 1,300-acre office park with 13 million sq ft of commercial space.
It is home to more than 70 companies, including American Airlines’ world headquarters, as well as 1,500 apartment units and the 295-room Marriott DFW South Hotel.
KDC is also developing CentrePort Station, a new mixed-use area which will add retail, restaurants and two new hotels to the campus.
Dallas Logistics Hub Under way
Construction started in June on the Dallas Logistics Hub, which will offer more than master-planned 6,000 acres for the development of 60 million sq ft of distribution, manufacturing, office and retail uses at the Lancaster Municipal Airport in Lancaster.
The project is spearheaded by the Allen Group, a Dallas-based developer of commercial properties across the United States. Dallas-based Kimley-Horn is the engineering firm for the project, and each development project will have separate contractors, which have not been selected.
Construction of the two new spec buildings—one 640,000 sq ft and the other 210,000 sq ft—began in June and should be completed by the end of the year.
The Allen Group’s Dallas Logistics Hub is adjacent to Union Pacific’s Southern Dallas Intermodal Terminal, four major highway connectors and Lancaster Airport, which is in the master-planning stage to facilitate air-cargo distribution.
Construction Starts on St. Philip’s College Diesel Lab Facility
St. Philip's College Southwest Campus in San Antonio broke ground on a 20,000-sq-ft, $2.2 million diesel lab facility that will include 10 instructional diesel technology bays housed within a one-story building.
The new lab will allow the college to provide students with up-to-date technological training required for diesel and heavy machinery maintenance in the San Antonio area. Completion is targeted for June 2008.
The architects are the joint venture of Saldana & Associates and Pfluger Associates, both of San Antonio; architectural consultant is Speegle of San Antonioconstruction manager is Skanska USA Building Inc. of Temple; and program manager is 3D/ Foster, both of San Antonio as a joint venture.
The school is located near Port San Antonio, the industrial park that was once home to Kelly Air Force Base.
This new construction project is the part of a $450 million Alamo Community College District bond issue, which voters approved in November 2005. St. Philip's College is a part of the Alamo Community College District serving Bexar County.
Zachary Construction Awarded $50 Million River Improvements Project
The San Antonio River Authority board of directors awarded San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corp. a $49.8 million contract to complete the Museum Reach leg of the San Antonio River Improvements Project.
Under this plan, Zachry will make improvements to the river from Lexington Avenue to Josephine Street. The project includes a lock and dam near Brooklyn Avenue, boat landings, a harbor, walkways, stairs, accessible ramps, lighting, signage, benches, trash cans and pocket parks.
Rent-A-Center Headquarters Completed in Plano
Dallas-based Koll Development Co. completed the new 175,000-sq-ft corporate headquarters for Plano-based Rent-A-Center Inc. The headquarters, at 5501 Headquarters Drive in the Legacy Business Park in Plano, broke ground in January 2006.
The facility will initially house 500 employees with a capacity up to 650. Employees moved into the new building on March 16. The new headquarters includes structured parking, fitness center, concept store and food service facility.
The project team included Dallas-based Corgan Associates Inc. as project architect and Dallas-based Constructors & Associates Inc. as general contractor.
Turner to Build Replacement Medical Center Hospital at Princeton
Houston-based Turner Construction Co. has been selected to serve as the general contractor for the construction of the University Medical Center at Princeton replacement hospital in Plainsboro Township, N.J.
Turner's scope of work includes construction of a 269-bed replacement hospital with 10 surgical suites, full-service diagnostics, cardiac labs, radiation oncology with linear accelerators and related ancillary and support space.
Concept plans for the hospital were presented to the Plainsboro Planning Board in December 2006 and input from Plainsboro officials and residents is expected over the course of the coming months.
Cadence McShane Completes Two Projects
Houston-based Cadence McShane Corp. completed the new 60,000-sq-ft Katy Med-Arts Center on behalf of The Mathis Group, Inc. of Sugarland. In addition, the Dallas office recently completed DFW Logistics Center Building One, a 113,640-sq-ft freight-forwarding facility located at Minters Chapel Road and North Airfield Drive in Grapevine.
The new tilt-wall facility, a development of AMB Property Corporation of San Francisco, offers convenient access to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. It features a 24’ clear height and 39 external truck docks to accommodate the movement of bulk materials and packaged goods throughout the facility. Dallas-based Alliance Architects, Inc., provided the architectural services for the project.
The new Katy Med-Arts Center three-story medical office building is situated on a 4.5-acre site located at 1331 W. Grand Parkway North in the Houston suburb of Katy.
The three-story medical office facility includes physician suites in a variety of configurations designed for the specific needs of each tenant. The building also includes ancillary services for a bank, coffee shop and pharmacy. Cadence McShane constructed the facility of tiltwall panels with an exterior finish of granite aggregate veneer. Site landscaping was completed and 300 parking spaces were provided for patient and doctor convenience.
Page Southerland Page of Houston provided the architectural services for the project. The Mathis Group, Inc. was the owner’s representative/project manager for this medical office facility development. |
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