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PHILADELPHIA-Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has awarded the construction contract for phase two of its research facility expansion in the south campus complex to Turner Construction Co., which is based in New York City and has an office here. This is a $235-million contract for an 11-story, 423,000-sf tower.

Turner is nearing completion of the first phase of the expansion under way on an eight-acre portion of the former Civic Center site. That $150-million project encompasses a shared, below-ground link that houses support functions, including laboratories and a central utility plant with capacity to support the phase two component.

Phase two has now been named the Colket Translational Research Building, reflecting a $25-million donation from Campbell Soup heir Tristram C. Colket Jr. and his wife, Ruth. Translational research is the name applied to translating basic science research into real-life treatments and cures. “Our goal is to advance the health of children by turning scientific discovery into medical innovation,” says Philip R. Johnson, chief scientific officer of CHOP, in a statement.

The Colket building will contain a main-floor lobby, cafeteria and conference spaces; a support floor, four floors of laboratories, three floors of offices, and two mechanical floors. It is expected to reach completion in 2009, according to a CHOP spokeswoman.

The building also is designed to allow for the addition of another 11 stories on top, but no timeframe has been set for that expansion. The principal architect is Cambridge, MA-based Tsoi/Kobus and Associates, and locally based Ballinger is the associate architect. The entire South Campus Research Project is part of a 10-year, $1.5-billion expansion plan begun in 2001. A seven-story, 332,000-sf inpatient facility and emergency department and the 122,000-sf Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Pediatric Research Center have been completed.