Medicines and Massachusetts Dominate $822 Million in New England Project Starts During Third Quarter

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Massachusetts remains No. 1 in the New England region in capital and maintenance spending. Out of $822 million in capital and maintenance project starts during the third quarter of 2009, the state laid claim to $647 million. That total investment value (TIV) was from 14 projects, resulting in an average project TIV of $46 million. As for the entire region, there were 29 projects that average $28 million each, according to Industrial Info's North American Industrial Database.

Click on image at right for a listing of planned third-quarter project starts in the New England region.

The third-quarter numbers for Massachusetts had a boost from the start of construction on the $443 million Albert Sherman Research Center in Worcester. Located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, the project will add a 500,000-square-foot building, providing more than 300,000 square feet of research space in 27 lab areas. In addition to facilities focusing on stem cell biology and gene therapy research, the Advanced Therapeutics Cluster will be housed in the new building. Designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge, the project's construction is being handled by William A. Berry and Son (Cambridge, Massachusetts), according to Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical-Biotech Tracker - Online Database. Construction on the building began last month, with partial funding from the federal stimulus program. The building is expected to be completed in late 2012.

The region's remaining project investment was scattered among Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, with only Rhode Island coming up nil for the quarter. Connecticut had eight project starts during the quarter, with a TIV of just more than $83 million. Those projects were sourced out of the Power, Chemical Processing, Food and Beverage, Industrial Manufacturing and Alternative Fuels industries. The largest project start in the state for the quarter is a $35 million project that will add a 15-MW combined heat and power plant at the Foxwoods Resort in Ledyard, Connecticut. A/Z Construction (North Stonington, Connecticut) is building the plant.

The region took a hit during the third quarter when comparing the numbers to last year, having suffered a $500 million, or 65%, drop from the 2008 total of $1.3 billion. Once again, the Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry led the charge in boosting that figure with the start of Shire Human Genetic Therapies' (Cambridge) $394 million biologics manufacturing campus in Lexington, Massachusetts. Project team members include CRB Consulting Engineers (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania) and Bovis Lend Lease (Boston, Massachusetts). The project is scheduled to be complete in 2011.

The region currently has more than 1,500 operational plants, as found in Industrial Info's New England Online Plant Directory. The existing plants provide employment for more than 318,000 people in the region. With all the major industrial groups represented in the region, the majority of existing operational plants are claimed by the Industrial Manufacturing Industry, which employs more than 175,000 people in 474 plants. A distant second place falls to the Food & Beverage Industry, with roughly 200 facilities employing nearly 32,000 people. The rest of the operational sites are distributed among other groups, including the Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry with more than 170 sites employing nearly 50,000 people. The Pulp, Paper & Wood Industry is on board with more than 170 facilities and 23,000 jobs.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.