Wilson Completes $207 Million WUSM/BJC Hospital

S. M. Wilson & Co. has completed construction of a new 675,000 square-foot biomedical research and hospital facility for Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM), BJC HealthCare and Barnes-Jewish Hospital (BJH).

The $207 million project is located at the corner of Children's Place and Euclid Avenue in St. Louis.

The new 11-story high-rise will house facilities for both Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Stories seven through 11 house WUSM's research and laboratory facilities. The sixth floor houses the building's mechanical and electrical systems, while the first five floors are flexible shell space for BJH's anticipated expansion. The first and second floor shell spaces house a kitchen, dining hall and servery. The additional spaces could include pharmaceutical, clinical and laboratory spaces.

The lower level of the building houses a new shipping and receiving area, a tunnel under Euclid Avenue large enough for a tractor trailer and anew roadway to Taylor Avenue.

The project was built over the top of an active Metrolink light rail system, including pedestrian bridges to several adjacent buildings. This required extensive mechanical, electrical and plumbing system relocations and reconnections to campus services.

The biomedical research building was designed and built to be environmentally sustainable. Sustainable construction processes and building features include a pollution prevention plan, water efficient landscaping, optimized energy performance plan, use of recycled and local building materials, use of low-emitting materials, increased ventilation and outdoor air delivery monitoring.

S. M. Wilson provided pre-construction and construction management services for the project. Construction began in Fall of 2007. As part of the project, S. M. Wilson mentored Interface Construction, a minority-owned construction firm working as a subcontractor on the project.
Cannon Design is the architecture firm for the project, with mechanical, plumbing and electrical engineering services provided by Ross & Baruzzini. Structural engineering was provided by OES, and civil engineering by Genisis.

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