Construction cost for the science center is $29 million. "We've started site work and expect to reach completion in fall 2008," says Bill Sahwell, EVP and account manager in Stockholm-based Skanska's Philadelphia regional office in Blue Bell. "It's an aggressive schedule," he adds, "and meeting the deadline was a part of our sub-contractors' bidding process."

The science center is a four-story building, plus a basement. It will contain eight computer labs, six chemistry labs, 10 high-tech classrooms and two 100-seat lecture halls with video conferencing capabilities. There will be a total of 20 labs for biology, chemistry and physics, plus administration offices, an animal room, conference room, dark room, greenhouse, student lounge and science library. The architect is Philadelphia-based Kling Architects.

Sahwell tells GlobeSt.com that the two-story international cultural center is a $17-million project, slated to break ground in January, with completion to follow within 17 months. Both buildings are on vacant land on the Lincoln campus.