Boston, MA – Suffolk Construction Company, one of the leading privately held construction management firms in the country, and Payette, a leading architectural design firm specializing in complex buildings for academic teaching, medical and scientific research, and healthcare, recently joined Rhode Island dignitaries and university officials to celebrate the topping off of the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy building. Designed by Payette and constructed by Suffolk Construction, the University of Rhode Island is pursuing LEED Silver certification for the 145,000 square foot facility.
The topping off ceremony recognized the placing of the final steel beam of the new College of Pharmacy building frame, which is a key milestone in the construction of the project. Speakers included Donald L. Carcieri, governor, state of Rhode Island; Robert A. Weygand, URI vice president for administration and finance; David M. Dooley, URI president; Ray M. DiPasquale, R.I. commissioner of Higher Education; Ronald P. Jordan, dean of URI’s College of Pharmacy; Christine Dao, URI doctoral candidate in pharmacognosy; and Edward Rudnic, an alumnus of the URI College of Pharmacy who earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from URI.
This new $75M facility will allow the complete College of Pharmacy to be under one roof for the first time and will house college teaching laboratories and classrooms, research laboratories, faculty, staff and administrative offices, and outreach programs. Reflecting the program’s commitment to a clinical-based teaching regimen, a major component of the project includes a working patient clinic where students will gain hands-on experience.
The University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy project is expected to be completed in December 2011. It is the second major part of the new health and life science district in the northern portion of the campus.
