New $28 Million U.S. Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center Underway in Arizona; Contractor Identified

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency, The U.S. Arid-Land Agriculture Research Service (Phoenix, Arizona) has begun preliminary site preparation activity on a new $28 million research center located in Maricopa, Arizona.

The 98,000 square foot center will be outfitted with labs and training rooms, multiple greenhouse structures, crop growing, and testing area to deal with issues pertaining to growing crops on arid and semiarid or dry land conditions.

The agency selected Core Construction (Phoenix, Arizona) as the general contractor for the project and the company is currently seeking qualified subcontractors to perform various trades associated with building construction.

Underground plumbing and site work should be completed by the end of May, and building construction will begin early to mid summer in anticipation of having construction completed in fifteen months.

Once completed, the U.S. Water Conservation Lab and the Western Cotton Research Lab will relocate from Phoenix to the new center and will house 30 scientists, plus support staff for the Agricultural Research Service. The center will also be co-located with the University of Arizona's Maricopa Agricultural Center.

The U.S. Arid-Land Agriculture Research Service in involved in researching and identity's solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day, from field to your table. Research performed at the center ranges from protecting crops and livestock from pests and disease to improving the quality and safety of agricultural products and providing research support to other federal agencies.