A VPP Star for Safety

John Heye, a project engineer in DPR’s mid-Atlantic region, left for Iraq in August. A Major in the U.S. Marine Corps (Company A, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment), Heye is going in advance of the troops he commands to coordinate their arrival. DPR has several employees who serve as reservists, but Heye is the first to be sent overseas. “John is really an outstanding person and a brave man proudly serving his country, and we all wish him and his family our very best,” said Doug Woods.

A Capital Plan

DPR Fairfax has kicked off construction on Virginia’s Finance Building, the first state-owned building to be renovated and restored through the Public Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (PPEA). Located in Richmond, VA’s Capitol Square, the $26 million project entails re-pointing of brick, repairing cornices and preserving original elements of the 72,500-sq.-ft. building built in 1896, as well as the construction of a 51,000-sq.-ft. addition. Slated to be completed in the summer of 2005, the Finance Building will house the office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Building (More) Great Things with Scripps

Continuing our long-standing relationship with The Scripps Research Institute, DPR was recently selected as part of the Weitz-DPR joint partnership to manage construction of the 364-000-sq.-ft., $137 million Scripps Florida facilities planned to open in 2006 in Palm County Beach. Scripps Florida, a state-of-the-art biomedical research facility that will ultimately employ more than 500 people, will focus on basic biomedical science, drug discovery and technology development. Among the projects completed by DPR for The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, are tenant improvements, a variety of laboratories, mechanical system upgrades, computer rooms, a cafeteria, and expansions of break rooms.

A “Four-peat” with Butte

Construction is underway on the Learning Resource Center (LRC) at Butte Community College, with DPR Sacramento serving as construction manager. The three-story 71,387-sq.-ft. building—the fourth DPR has undertaken for the school—will provide the college’s 14,000 students with improved classrooms and labs for humanities and social studies programs, a Center for Academic Success planned for one-stop remedial and tutoring services, and an increased number of computer labs. The LRC, which is scheduled to be completed in November 2005, will also provide faculty with offices to replace previous temporary accommodations and is being considered the first step in addressing the campus-wide office deficit.

A Drawing from Experience

Since completing its first Art Institute project for the Education Management Corporation in 2001, DPR has taken on a number of endeavors—as diverse as the school’s curriculum—for the nation’s leading educator of students in the creative and applied arts: DPR has built computer labs and added shelving in Santa Ana, CA; performed tenant improvements in Phoenix, San Francisco and Tampa, FL.; and completed preconstruction services for a buildout in San Diego. Now, DPR’s Atlanta office is adding its experience with project number 12, a 24,000-sq.-ft. buildout of the second floor of an existing building located on the Miami International University of Art & Design campus in Miami. Scheduled for just six weeks, the project is due to be completed in September.