Comcast Center Set To Soar Above the Rest

A new 57-story tower project underway in downtown Philadelphia will be the city's tallest building.

Comcast Center Gets the Go Ahead

The new 57-story Comcast Center, as seen in the center of this rendering, will tower above its neighbors after it is completed in 2007. At 975 vertical ft., it will be the city's tallest building. Rendering courtesy of Robert A. M. Stern Architects.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Philadelphia's skyline is about to get a new featured attraction. Work is moving forward on One Pennsylvania Tower, a 57-story office tower that will be built at 17th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Rising more than 975 ft. above neighboring Arch Street, the 1.2-million-sq.-ft. tower will be the city's tallest and one of the tallest in the United States. Work was scheduled to begin in January with completion in 2007.

The $435 million project got the go ahead after its developer, Liberty Property Trust, signed a 15-year lease in January with Comcast Corp., making it the anchor tenant. Under terms of the deal, the tower will be called Comcast Center. The state, with backing from Gov. Edward Rendell, agreed in December to offer a total of nearly $43 million in funding for the project.

Liberty Property Trust shored up the construction team in January, signing on L.F. Driscoll of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., as the general contractor. Robert A. M. Stern Architects of New York, N.Y., is the project's design architect and Kendall Heaton of Houston, Texas is the architect of record. Pennoni Assoc. of Philadelphia is the civil engineer; Thornton Tomasetti of Newark, N.J., is the structural engineer; and Paul H. Yeomans of Philadelphia is the MEP engineer. Nearly 5,000 construction jobs are expected to be created by the project, according to Liberty Trust estimates.

The tower will include 55-occupied floors with floor-to-floor heights of 15 ft. in the lower 42 floors. The top 13 floors will feature 17 ft. heights. A unique element of the design is the "sky atria" in the lower portion of the tower. It will feature a series of four three-story atrium spaces, one above the other, that overlook the neighboring plaza. Above its limestone and granite base, the tower is clad in aluminum-frame curtain wall.

Work on the new Comcast Center begins as construction of the Cira Centre at nearby 30th Street Station is finishing up. Before the construction of Cira Centre, Philadelphia had not seen a new skyscraper built in nearly 12 years.

Contractors Take the Field at RFK

WASHINGTON, DC - The construction team has taken the field to begin renovations at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The stadium is being renovated as the temporary home for the new Washington Nationals major league baseball team, which will occupy the stadium for three years while a new stadium is being built.

Much of the construction team on the $18.5 million project was finalized in late December, following passage of a baseball financing deal by the city. Turner Construction of Arlington, Va., signed on as the general contractor in late December. The project architects are HNTB of Washington and Devrouax & Purnell Architects of Washington. The program management team includes WDG Architecture of Washington, Brailsford & Dunlavey of Washington, and McKissack & McKissack of Washington. Thornton, Tomasetti, Cutts of Washington is the structural engineer and Vanderweil Engineers of Alexandria, Va., is the MEP engineer.

RFK, the former home of the Washington Senators, needs minor improvements to be ready for baseball in the spring, including baseball playing field restoration, seating bowl reconfiguration, locker room improvements, new dugouts, and improvements to the clubhouses, scoreboard and press box.

The construction team must be finished before Major League Baseball's opening day on April 14, 2005.

Tompkins Awarded U.S. Richmond Courthouse

RICHMOND, VA - Tompkins Builders of Washington, D.C., was recently awarded the U.S. Richmond Courthouse project in Richmond, Va., by the U.S. General Services Administration office in Philadelphia. The $74.3 million project was expected to start in early 2005 and be built by the year 2008.

The 336,961-sq.-ft. courthouse design includes a steel structure with progressive collapse features. The curtain wall will consist of blast resistant glass and glazing with side plate connections. The structure will include stone and precast concrete with ornamental steel rails. The raised accessed floors will be made of Portland cement terrazzo.

Gilbane Selected as CM for NIH Research Facility

FREDERICK, MD - The National Institutes of Health has named Gilbane as construction manager for a proposed Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, Md. Located on approximately six acres, the facility is intended to support research at Biosafety Levels 2, 3 and 4.

Groundbreaking is expected in early 2005 and construction may take up to two years.

The proposed facility may provide as much as 150,000-sq.-ft. of floor space, housing laboratory space for animal research, radiology equipment, mechanical space and a waste-handling area. The proposed facility will enable researchers from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the NIH, to study disease-causing microbes.

Skanska Awarded $89 Million Bridge Project

WEST POINT, VA - Tidewater Skanska of Virginia Beach, Va., was recently awarded a bridge construction project in West Point, Va. The $89 million assignment is for a new bascule bridge spanning the Pamunkey River in West Point.

The 5,600-ft.-long bridge replaces a 50-year-old bridge on Route 33. The existing bridge is two lanes, but the new bridge will be four lanes with a separate outside shoulder for bicycle traffic. The vertical clearance to the marine channel will be increased from 35 ft. to 55 ft. to facilitate tugboat and barge traffic on the river. New land connections will be constructed to accommodate the higher elevation.

The project was awarded by Virginia Department of Transportation. Work is underway and is expected to be completed in November 2007.

Turner Announces New Projects

ARLINGTON, VA - Turner Construction of Arlington, Va., recently announced several new contracts and ground breakings. The company was awarded a contract to build a 10-story office building at 1101 K St. in Washington, D.C. The project includes four underground levels of parking. The total size of the L-shaped office building and garage is approximately 447,000 sq. ft.

Turner was also awarded Blair Middle School in Norfolk, Va. The four-phase project is scheduled to take 34 months to complete. The first phase includes the construction of several temporary facilities. The second phase is the construction of a three-story 123,000-sq.-ft. addition. The third phase consists of the complete renovation of the existing 121,000-sq.-ft. school. The fourth phase includes removal of temporary facilities and completion of site work.

The company began construction of the new National Rural Electric Cooperative Association building in Arlington, Va. The project includes an 11-story office building and a five-level underground parking garage.

Turner also started construction on the Mount Vernon Orientation Education Center & Museum in Mount Vernon, Va. The project consists of two buildings - a 38,000-sq.-ft. orientation center and a 28,000-sq.-ft. education center. The orientation center will include two theaters. The education center will house exhibit spaces.

Granary to Design New Student Center

Granary Assoc. of Philadelphia, Pa., is designing a new $6 million 32,000-sq.-ft. Student Community Center at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry's Elkins Park, Pa., campus.

ELKINS PARK, PA - Granary Assoc. of Philadelphia, Pa., will design the $6 million Student Community Center at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry's new campus in Elkins Park, Pa. The two-story 32,000-sq.-ft. student center will incorporate a multi-functional gymnasium, fitness center and several additional spaces for students to meet.

The first floor will contain a full-size gymnasium as well as a lounge. The gym is being designed with appropriate acoustics, audio-visual systems and a stage so that it can be used as a large lecture hall accommodating 250 chairs.

The second floor will feature a suspended track around the periphery of the gym. The second floor will also have a large multi-purpose activity area.

Anne Arundel Medical to Build $200 Million Addition

Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Md., announced plans to build a nine-story $200 million addition. The project was designed by Wheeler, Goodman, Masek and Assoc. of Annapolis. Construction is expected to start in fall 2007.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Md., announced plans in December to build a nine-story $200 million addition. The addition will provide 69 private patient rooms, including 51 medical and surgical beds and 18 critical care beds. It also will provide space for expansion of the surgery, emergency and radiology departments as well as a new clinical services floor.

Wheeler, Goodman, Masek and Assoc. of Annapolis designed the project. Construction is expected to start in fall 2007 with completion in 2009.

Maryland Offers $5 Million for Aquarium Project

BALTIMORE, MD - The new Center for Aquatic Life and Conservation of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Md., is a step closer to reality. Gov. Robert Ehrlich earmarked $5 million toward the project in December.

The center will be located on a 19-acre former industrial waterfront plot on the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River in South Baltimore.

The first stage of the project, which has an estimated cost of $35 million, will include brownfield remediation, adaptive reuse of a city garage into an animal care center and developing a publicly accessible nature park. The facility will include up to 50,000 sq. ft. of space for its conservation programs. Total costs are estimated to reach up to $100 million, according to aquarium representatives.

An architect has not been selected and no schedules have been determined, but the animal care center will have to be relocated to the site by 2008.

Harkins Breaks Ground on Ft. Meade Facility

FORT MEADE, MD - Harkins Builders of Marriottsville, Md., recently broke ground on the new Ft. Meade Army Reserve Center in Fort Meade, Md. The scope of the $21.6 million project includes new construction of an 1,800-member U.S. Army Reserve Center, an organizational maintenance shop, a unit storage building, and an unheated storage building.

Harkins was awarded the contract in September by the Contracting Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District. Contract options could bring the total contract value to roughly $40 million.

Harkins completed work in December on a 600-member U.S. Army Reserve Center at Ft. Story, Va., and is also building 250 units of housing at Andrews AFB and Bolling AFB in Washington, D.C.

L.F. Driscoll, Intech Begin Hill at Whitemarsh Project

LAFAYETTE HILL, PA - L.F. Driscoll of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., and Intech of Philadelphia recently broke ground on the Hill at Whitemarsh in Lafayette Hill, Pa. The 511,450-sq.-ft. facility will serve as a continuing care retirement community in Lafayette Hill. The facility is scheduled to open in Feb. 2007.

When complete, Hill at Whitemarsh will include 189 independent living apartments and an assisted living/skilled nursing health center. The health center will have 28 assisted living units and a 60-unit private skilled nursing facility.

Davis Digs in at Sidwell Friends

WASHINGTON, DC - James G. Davis of Rockville, Md., recently broke ground on a project at Sidwell Friends Middle School in Washington, D.C. The project includes a 34,843-sq.-ft. addition, 31,843-sq.-ft. renovation, a 191,270-sq.-ft. parking structure and a 73,800-sq.-ft. sports field. The addition and renovation have been designed for LEED Platinum certification, and are hoped to be among the greenest buildings in the country. Kieran Timberlake Assoc. is the architect and JFW Inc. is the owner's representative.

The Sidwell project will boast a constructed wetland system that will treat the school's wastewater and reuse part of it to flush toilets. The roof will include a rooftop classroom and a 35kW photovoltaic system to reduce power use at the school by 5 percent.

Budding young tennis stars and project team members dig in at the ground breaking of the $11 million Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Center in Philadelphia, Pa., in December.

Shoemaker Starts Work at Arthur Ashe Center

PHILADELPHIA, PA - R. M. Shoemaker of West Conshohoken, Pa., has broken ground on the new $11 million Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Center in Philadelphia, Pa. The project will include eight indoor courts, eight outdoor courts, a stadium court and a two-story 10,000-sq.-ft. building that will house offices, a library and locker rooms.

L. Robert Kimball of Philadelphia, Pa., is the architect. Pennoni Assoc. of Philadelphia is the civil engineer.

The center is expected to open in fall 2005.

Construction of the George B. Young Hall at Calvert Hall College High School in Baltimore, Md., has been completed. The $8 million 50,000-sq.-ft. structure was designed by Gaudreau of Baltimore. Photo by Alain Jaramillo.

Gaudreau Project Completed at Calvert Hall

BALTIMORE, MD - Construction of the George B. Young Hall at Calvert Hall College High School in Baltimore, Md., has been completed. The 50,000-sq.-ft. $8 million facility includes computer and programming labs; general classrooms; two-tiered presentation classrooms; conference areas; TV studio and control room; faculty offices; and a library/media center

The project was designed by Gaudreau of Baltimore and is the fourth building the firm has worked on at the school.

Hess Construction of Gaithersburg, Md., recently completed the $15 million 79,000-sq.-ft. District Courthouse in Silver Spring, Md.

Hess Completes Sliver Spring Courthouse

SILVER SPRING, MD - Hess Construction of Gaithersburg, Md., completed construction of the $15 million 79,000-sq.-ft. District Courthouse in Silver Spring, Md. The new four-story steel-framed building is part of the $321 million 28-care mixed-use town center project for the urban renewal of Silver Spring.

The front façade of the building is clad in limestone with a four-story glass curtain wall. The other walls are brick. HLM Design of Bethesda, Md., was the architect. The Maryland Department of General Services administered the project.

Coakley Finishes Anne Arundel College Project

GAITHERSBURG. MD - Coakley & Williams Construction of Gaithersburg, Md., recently completed the 97,631-sq.-ft. Center for Applied Learning and Technology at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Md.

The building contains a 2,400-sq.-ft. conference center that is divisible into three seminar rooms, an 80-seat lecture hall, 23 classrooms, 24 labs, two studios, two student lounges with vending services and faculty offices. Unique features of the project included a pedestrian bridge spanning an existing gorge; a three-story lobby featuring a custom-designed terrazzo floor portraying a map of the Chesapeake Bay and Anne Arundel County; and a green roof system with its own irrigation system. Grimm + Parker Architects was the architect.

CHAD Gets Permanent New Home

PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Charter High School for Architecture + Design now has a permanent home in Philadelphia, Pa. The CHAD Designing Futures Foundation, a private foundation whose mission is to support the high school, purchased the five-story 125,000-sq.-ft. Liberty Square building at 105 South 7th Street for $10.3 million.

CHAD is a four-year, public, tuition-free, charter high school offering an academic, college prep curriculum with the theme of architecture, design and construction.