Higher Learning

Nevada Schools Focus on Multidisciplinary Health Sciences

Several new multi-use higher education projects in Nevada are moving forward with the help of private donations.

By Tony Illia

Nevada, like many states, has been hard hit by the recession, resulting in several delayed, deferred or deleted large-scale developments.

Still, there is a strong demand for new health science facilities and other buildings at state colleges and universities. Institutions are using private-public partnerships and donor contributions, as well as designing multiuse shared facilities, in their efforts to still move forward with projects.

CSN Engelstad Health Sciences Building Addition

The College of Southern Nevada benefited from an $8.2-million gift from the Engelstad Family Foundation. It’s the largest gift in CSN’s 38-year history.

The $4.5-million Ralph and Betty Engelstad Health Sciences Building addition will house the college’s cardiorespiratory sciences program. The two-story CMU and steel structure links to the school’s existing four-story building. (Image courtesy SH Architecture)

The donation from the family of Ralph Engelstad, owner of the Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino, who died in 2002 from lung cancer, is being used to expand the Ralph and Betty Engelstad Health Sciences Building at 6375 W. Charleston Blvd. in Las Vegas. It’s the first time in school history that a building is being named after a donor.

CORE Construction of Nevada is building the $4.5-million, two-story addition at the southeast end of the 80-acre CSN Charleston campus, which enrolls nearly 12,000 students each semester. The 18,742-sq-ft extension connects to an existing four-story, 85,366-sq-ft structure that opened in 2005.

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The expansion will house the college’s cardiorespiratory sciences program. It’s being built under a negotiated-fee, construction-manager-at-risk contract – another first for the school – that yielded unexpected benefits.

“School plans originally called for a single-story, 10,000-sq-ft building,” says Marty Harpster, CORE’s vice president and director of preconstruction services. “But we were able to add a second story, nearly doubling its size, for just $500,000 more.”

The building, designed by Las Vegas-based SH Architecture, is a steel-and-concrete block structure that made for economical and speedy construction. The exterior features a combination of glass, EIFS and stone. The 36-ft-tall structure rests atop a concrete slab foundation on a half-acre of land to the immediate south of the existing building. The two buildings are connected via a glass-encased ground-level breezeway.

The addition features two, 40-student capacity classrooms, plus a pulmonary laboratory, a simulation laboratory with electronically wired rubber dummy patients, an x-ray reading room and a washroom and storage area. There are also two testing suites and two debriefing rooms. The 8,387-sq-ft second level is raw shell space for future growth. The 10-month project is scheduled to open before the fall 2010 semester.

UNLV Shadow Lane Biomedical Research Facility

McCarthy Building Cos. of Las Vegas has completed a $7.5-million renovation at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas’ 18.2-acre Shadow Lane Campus under a construction-management-at-risk contract. The work entails upgrading the 31,200-sq-ft first level of the Biomedical Research Facility near the northeast corner of Charleston Boulevard and Shadow Lane.

“The building is over 30 years old and some of the blueprints were outdated or missing, so it was essential for us to gather the most accurate data in order to complete this project on time and eliminate any surprises once we began construction,” says McCarthy project director Ryan Heeter.

The $7.5-million Shadow Lane Campus renovation upgrades UNLV’s Biomedical Research Facility. Inset: Without accurate blueprints available, engineers used a laser scanner to create an extremely accurate 3D point cloud map of the space. (Images courtesy McCarthy Building Cos.)

McCarthy hired Tucson-based Darling Environmental & Surveying Ltd. to laser scan the building’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The $20,000 investment resulted in extremely accurate three-dimensional plans.

Accurate data was crucial because the project called for extensive overhead mechanical, electrical and plumbing improvements with narrow tolerances. Ceiling heights were lowered and stepped in some instances to accommodate new piping.

“Getting everything above the ceiling while still achieving the room heights was a challenge,” says McCarthy project manager Josh Brummels. “Scanning saved a lot of time.”

Designed by the Phoenix office of SmithGroup, the project created 12 exam rooms, four classrooms, office space, debriefing areas and laboratories, as well as a student lounge and study space. Medical gas, data lines and casework were added, plus two, 200-ton chillers.

The project finished construction in July. It will be used by the UNLV nursing and dental schools, as well as University Medical Center and CSN.

“As our enrollment increases in our nursing and dental schools, so does the demand to provide the most up-to-date learning facilities,” says Roland Wisdom, project architect in UNLV Planning and Construction Dept.

UNR Center for Molecular Medicine

The University of Nevada-Reno is also building a multiuse health and sciences facility. The UNR School of Medicine’s Center for Molecular Medicine is a public-private joint-venture with the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease.

The University of Nevada-Reno School of Medicine’s Center for Molecular Medicine is as multi-disciplinary as they come. It not only houses the school’s microbiology, pharmacology and physiology departments, but it also exemplifies the spirit of public-private partnerships by providing space for the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease, the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Center of Excellence and the Nevada Cancer Institute. Image courtesy D/P/S

The University of Nevada-Reno School of Medicine’s Center for Molecular Medicine is as multi-disciplinary as they come. It not only houses the school’s microbiology, pharmacology and physiology departments, but it also exemplifies the spirit of public-private partnerships by providing space for the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease, the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Center of Excellence and the Nevada Cancer Institute. (Image courtesy D/P/S)

The Sparks, Nev.-based nonprofit group helped secure $10 million in state funds in 2005. Other project monies come from federal research grants. It marks the first new medical research facility built at the School of Medicine in nearly 30 years.

The $78-million, 140,000-sq-ft complex is on eight acres and will be used by the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Center of Excellence, Red Labs and the Nevada Cancer Institute, among others. It will also house portions of the university’s microbiology, pharmacology and physiology departments and serve as the new headquarters for the Whittemore Peterson Institute.

The project, which broke ground in early December, is being built by Sparks, Nev.-based Clark & Sullivan Constructors under a $54.9-million low-bid contract. The two, three-story steel-framed buildings are located near Virginia Street and McCarran Boulevard.

“The toughest part of the project was addressing the sloped site,” says Clark & Sullivan senior project manager Jarrett Rosenau. “The west end elevation is significantly higher than the east end. Also, there used to be an old ravine that had been filled in over the years using crummy dirt.”

The buildings subsequently rest atop 122 drilled caissons up to 60-ft-deep. They are connected with pile caps and grade beams.

Designed by Albuquerque-based Dekker /Perich/Sabatini Architects, the project contains a 60,000-sq-ft medical office building (east wing) and an 80,000-sq-ft laboratory building (west wing), both clad with exposed cast-in-place concrete, metal paneling, brick veneer and glass.

A third story sky-bridge connects the buildings, and a second-level breezeway links to the School of Medicine. Both buildings are serviced by a new central plant.

The 73-ft-tall laboratory building houses a vivarium, staff offices, and research and testing spaces for microbiology, pharmacology, immunology and physiology. It required medical gas, fume hoods and clean rooms with an air filtration system.

The 65-ft-tall medical office building houses the Institute, a 96-person capacity auditorium, two large meeting rooms and a food-service area.

The project is seeking LEED silver certification and is expected to achieve 42% energy and 50% water savings over comparably sized buildings. The center uses drought resistant plants; a sub-surface drip irrigation system; and low-flow faucets, showerheads, urinals and toilets. Other sustainable features include recycled building materials, natural day-lighting and low-VOC coatings and carpets. Construction is expected to finish in June 2010.

Key Players

CSN Engelstad Health Sciences Bldg.
General Contractor: CORE Construction of NV
Architect: SH Architecture

UNLV, Shadow Lane Biomedical Research Facility
General Contractor: McCarthy Building Cos.
Architect: SmithGroup
Consultant: Darling Environmental & Surveying Ltd.
Subcontractors: Bergelectric; Pahor Mechanical; Universal Plumbing; ISEC

UNR Center for Molecular Medicine
General Contractor: Clark & Sullivan Constructors
Architect: Dekker/Perich/Sabatini; Hershenow + Klippenstein (associate)
Structural Engineer: Forbes and Dunagan
Subcontractors: Savage and Son Inc.; Merit Electric; Luck Concrete; Dow Diversified

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