News

September 22, 2011

Manhattan/Torcon Tops Out U.S. Department of Defense Biocontainment Facility

On September 22, 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Manhattan/Torcon building team celebrated the “Topping Out” of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) Replacement facility at Fort Detrick, Maryland. USAMRIID is the largest, most complex biocontainment facility ever designed for the U.S. Department of Defense. The joint-venture team of Manhattan Construction Co. of Washington, D.C. and Torcon, Inc. of Red Bank, N.J. is constructing the $518 million project.

When the six-story 835,000-square-foot research facility is complete, the new USAMRIID building will house the largest concentration of Biosafety Level 3 and BSL 4 laboratory space in the Department of Defense. The BSL laboratory spaces employ many technical enhancements to protect researchers and to enhance their study of emerging biological threats, such as Ebola. The containment labs, for which USAMRIID is known, allow the Institute to safely work with highly hazardous pathogens to carry out its research mission.

In addition to its primary focus on protecting U.S. military personnel, USAMRIID also plays a critical role in the status of the country’s emergency preparedness. The Institute is a cornerstone of the U.S. biodefense strategy and is also a key component of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus at Fort Detrick.

At the Topping Out ceremony, MG James K. Gilman, USAMRMC commanding general, called the partnership between Manhattan and Torcon, the U.S. Army Health Facility Planning Agency, the Corps of Engineers and USAMRIID a great example of teamwork. The General added, “I have high hopes that the spirit of cooperation you’ve established will continue long after the construction is complete.”

The building is scheduled to be completed in late 2014. The USAMRIID project is LEED®- registered and designed to meet LEED Silver certification. The project architect is a joint venture of CUH2A, a subsidiary of HDR, Inc., and Smith Carter.