New research building set to break ground this month
October 15, 2010By Alison Lee Satake
This month UNCW will break ground on the new Marine Biotechnology in North Carolina research and development building that will open its doors for private biotechnology company tenants.
The building will be 69,000 square feet and will contain a variety of configurations, including five 2,400- square-foot labs with four offices, two 2,400-square-foot labs that can be subdivided into two 1,200-square-foot spaces, one 1,800-square-foot lab and three 1,200-square-foot labs, said Steve Fontana, senior technology development officer for UNCW’s Center for Marine Science and MARBIONC.
“Each of the labs will have modular, movable benches in the center of the lab for the larger labs, each with drop-down utilities. This will allow for easy reconfiguration as the need arises,” Fontana wrote in an email.
Construction of the $30 million MARBIONC building is funded in part by federal stimulus dollars. It received a $15 million matching grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
As of press time, the university plans to break ground on the facility off Masonboro Loop Road on Oct. 22.
