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ROCKVILLE, MD-United States Pharmacopeia has chosen DDR Construction to develop a 157,000-sf project on its headquarters campus. The Fairfax, VA-based DPR has gotten started on building the two-structure complex. USP, which is responsible for setting official public standards for prescription and over-the-counter medications in the US, plans to spend $72 million to complete the project.

In addition to nearby leased space totaling about 50,000 sf, USP currently operates out of a 67,000-sf structure developed in 1965 and cited on a 1.6-acre parcel at 12601 Twinbrook Pkwy. The new buildings will occupy the 2.8-acre plot located behind the existing facility. A four-story structure will consist of 141,000 sf of office and laboratory space, while the second building will feature 16,000 sf encompassing a conference center and additional office space above an underground three-level parking facility of 120,000 sf.

According to USP, DPR was selected for the job, in part, due to its reputation for building complex technical facilities for the biotechnology industry across the country. Locally, the company has served as general contractor on other biotech developments such as the construction of a 120,000-sf center for the Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville and a fermentation manufacturing facility for vaccine developer Iomai Corp. in Gaithersburg. The company also worked on build-outs for Rockville, MD's Center for Advanced Genomics--now the J. Craig Venter Institute--and biological products and services provider American Type Culture Collection in Manassas, VA. USP anticipates that DPR will wrap up construction on the new buildings in fall 2006.