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Ethanol Production Heats up in Mid-Atlantic
With demand for ethanol growing in the face of new fuel standards, Maryland has permitted the first ethanol production plants to be built in the state.
Maryland to Welcome $325 Million Wave of Ethanol Plants
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Maryland could see its first in a wave of ethanol plants break ground this year. The Maryland Department of Environment granted permits to two proposed ethanol plant projects in May.
Atlantic Ethanol of Baltimore plans to build a $125 million 52.5-million-gal production facility at its 60-acre waterfront site in Curtis Bay. The permit also allows Atlantic Ethanol to operate a terminal to deliver ethanol to local gasoline blending facilities via private pipeline or barge.
The company estimates the Baltimore area currently consumes about 300 to 400 million gal of ethanol per year. Carbon dioxide produced by the plant will be sold to the local beverage industry for making soda and other carbonated drinks. Distiller’s grains could also be produced to provide a high-protein dietary supplement to dairy cattle in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
“Our site has some real transportation advantages because all the products the plant produces will be sold and consumed in the region,” Roy adds.
Atlantic Ethanol’s site includes several rail turnouts, 8 million gal of existing tank capacity, two barge docks on the Baltimore harbor, 300,000 sq ft of heavy industrial building space, an office and a laboratory, in addition to power, natural gas and water supply.
Randy Roy, president of Atlantic Ethanol, says the company has not selected a designer and construction firm yet. Roy said he is hopeful the project could break ground in early 2008.
Ecron of Annapolis has also received the go-ahead to proceed with a proposed $200 million 110-million-gal ethanol plant at Sparrows Point shipyard south of Dundalk, Md. The facility would be built on the site of a former Bethlehem Steel facility. Boris Maslov, CEO of Ecron, says agreements are in place to sell the facility’s ethanol to nearby gasoline blenders.
Maslov says the company is still finalizing its financing. Ecron has selected ICM of Colwich, Kan., as the engineering, procurement and construction firm for the project. Maslov says the project could break ground this year once financing closes.
Charm City Going Green?
BALTIMORE – Baltimore could be the latest city in the region to go green. In May, the Baltimore City Planning Commission approved the creation of new green building standards. Under the guidelines, city buildings that undergo renovations would need to achieve a LEED Silver rating starting next year. Building projects that receive city funding or tax incentives would have to be LEED certified starting in 2009. All other building renovations would be required to receive LEED certification in 2010.
The City Council had yet to consider the legislation as of press time.
If passed, the new Baltimore regulations would mirror similar legislation passed in Washington, D.C. At the end of 2006, outgoing D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams signed the Green Building Act of 2006, which requires major private non-residential and District-owned buildings to comply with green building standards by 2012.
Under the law, new and substantially-improved commercial buildings of 50,000 sq ft or more in size have to fulfill or exceed LEED New Construction 2.2 or LEED Core and Shell 2.0 standards starting in 2010.
Post-secondary educational facilities will also have to meet those standards. All other educational facilities will be required to meet LEED for Schools standards by 2012.
All District-owned non-residential buildings of 10,000 sq ft or larger that are built or substantially renovated in 2008 must be designed to achieve 75 points on the EPA national energy performance rating system. All District-owned residential projects of 10,000 sq ft or more will have to exceed the Green Communities 2006 standard.
Montgomery County, Md., also passed green building requirements for buildings of 10,000 sq ft or larger in 2006.
Campbell’s $72 Million Expansion Still Simmering
CAMDEN, NJ – Campbell Soup Co. could find out this month if it can go ahead with a proposed $72 million 80,000-sq-ft expansion of its world headquarters in Camden, N.J. The company had hoped to break ground on the facility this summer, but its current plan hinges on demolishing the 80-year-old Sears building near the site. The Sears building has been designated as an historic structure.
Although the Sears building does not impede on the footprint of the headquarters building, it is on a neighboring 70-acre site where the company hopes to build the Gateway Office Park, according to a company spokesman.
The company will meet with state historic preservation representatives June 21 about the issue. The headquarters was designed by Kling Stubbins of Philadelphia. A general contractor has not been selected.
Perseus Lands $100 million YMCA Deal
WASHINGTON – Perseus Realty of Washington, D.C., has partnered with the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington to deliver a new $100 million project on W Street and 14th Street, NW.
The 250,000-sq-ft project will feature more than 200 apartments and 12,000 sq ft of retail. As part of the development, Perseus will demolish the existing YMCA Anthony Bowen facility and build a new 45,000-sq-ft replacement facility. Perseus will build the facility, but YMCA will retain ownership. Perseus will also renovate about 10,000-sq-ft of existing properties on the site, including portions of town homes.
Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum Inc. of Washington and Dorsky Hodgson & Partners Inc. of Washington are the architects. No construction firm has been selected. Pending approvals and permitting, Perseus hopes to begin construction by the second quarter of 2008, said Woody Bolton, principal of Perseus Realty.
Bovis Begins $73 Million Renovation at Johns Hopkins
BALTIMORE – Summer break at John Hopkins University signaled the start of a $73 million renovation of the historic Gilman Hall. Work began in June on a three-year project aimed to restore the 92-year-old academic building to its original status as a national model for teaching and scholarship in the humanities.
Frances Halsband of R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects of New York City is the architect. Bovis Lend Lease of Washington is the general contractor.
The building’s interior is being reconfigured to better nurture interdisciplinary collaboration. A new basement will be dug for mechanical systems. Modern heating, air conditioning, electrical, lighting, life safety and information technology systems will be installed throughout. New ground-to-fourth floor stairwells will be created, and new back corridors will eliminate dead ends.
With the removal of a bookstore, bank and credit union from the ground floor, the space available for academic departments will grow from about 43,000 to about 55,000 gross square feet. Pooled classroom and seminar space will grow from about 8,000 feet to nearly 11,000. A dedicated film screening room will seat 140.
The renovation will take place in two phases. This summer, the old stacks in the core of the building will be demolished. The building will remain occupied through academic year 2007-2008, but then will close for two years. Reopening is scheduled for late summer of 2010.
Balfour Beatty Begins Penn Quarter Project
WASHINGTON, DC – Balfour Beatty Construction of Fairfax, Va., broke ground in April on a new $50 million “trophy class” office building in Washington’s popular Penn Quarter district. The new 12-story office building at 700 Sixth Street, NW, will be adjacent to the Verizon Center and Gallery Place retail and dining. The new 403,000-sq-ft building will have 300,000 sq ft of rentable space and include three-and-a-half levels of below-grade parking.
Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, Inc. of Washington, D.C., designed the building, which features exterior copper ornamental spandrel panels, zinc panels, precast and stone, numerous cornices and complex curtainwall systems. The new building is designed to meet LEED Silver rating requirements. Other features include a green roof, a three-story monumental open lobby with glass bridge, stone lobby walls and flooring, and fitness facility. Completion is planned for early 2009.
Hamel, Gilford Break Ground on Solea
WASHINGTON, DC – A joint venture of Hamel Builders of Elkridge, Md., and Gilford Corporation of Beltsville, Md., broke ground on Solea, a new $23.4 million mixed-use project in Washington, in June. The project, which is being developed by The Jair Lynch Companies of Washington, is a mixed-income mixed-use live/work property that will be the first of its kind in the District.
The 60,700-sq-ft project located at 14th Street and Florida Avenue will feature 52 residential condominiums, seven live/work units, and three retail condominiums.
Development plans call for 21 of the residential units to be set aside for affordable and workforce housing, and two of the retail condominiums as affordable retail space targeted for “super-local” businesses.
National Capital Revitalization Corp. contributed land to the partnership in exchange for a share in the profits, which will be reinvested in the city’s underserved communities.
Whiting-Turner Starts $23 Million Prince William Project
Whiting-Turner Contracting Company of Chantilly, Va., broke ground on a new outpatient health-care center in Haymarket, Va., for Prince William Health System in April. The three-story facility will be located on 38 acres near the intersection of Interstate 66 and U.S. Route 15. The 78,000-square-foot healthcare facility, expected to open in 2008.
Gresham Smith and Partners of Richmond, Va., is the architect. Dewberry of Fairfax, Va., is the civil engineer.
Plans call for the new center to provide 33,759-sq-ft of physician office, an urgent care facility with nine patient treatment bays, a radiology center, a physical therapy suite, and a surgery center, with plans for two operating rooms, two special procedure rooms, and 15 pre-op recovery bays.
Hillier on Display in Bucks County
DOYLESTOWN, PA – Hillier Architecture’s talents will soon be on display at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa. The firm has been selected for a $10 million renovation and expansion of the museum, which focused on the art and cultural heritage of the Bucks County region. The expansion initiative is aimed at increasing gallery space and raising the institution’s regional prominence.
The project is expected to break ground in 2008. Alvin H. Butz, Inc., of Allentown is the Construction Manager.
The project builds upon the museum’s existing 33,000-sq-ft facility – a historic landmark that began as the Bucks County Jail in 1884 – and involves the creation of a 10,000-square-foot, two-level gallery wing, a new 4,000-sq-ft glass-enclosed event pavilion, and renovation of a current multipurpose space into a complete education complex. |
