America Online appears twice on this list, topping new construction in the state with its technology center on 25 acres in the Battlefield Business Park in Prince William County. AOL is building a 220,000-square-foot center that is expected to employ about 125 new employees on site and up to 50 more in support roles. The investment includes about $400 million in computer equipment and peripherals.

The building should be completed in March 2000. Providing architectural and engineering services are CCG Facilities Integration Inc. and Notari Associates, both of Baltimore. The general contractor is Holder Construction Co. of Atlanta, Ga.

This nine-mile, limited-access highway will run southeast of Richmond connecting Interstate 95 and Chippenham Parkway in Chesterfield County to Interstate 295 in Henrico County. It will be known as Pocahontas Parkway. This is the first project to be constructed under the provisions of Virginia's Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995.

The project will include a high bridge over the James River so that ocean-going ships will continue to have access to the Port of Richmond's Deepwater Terminal. There will also be an interchange at Laburnum Avenue.

The project is being managed by FDMK of Richmond, a partnership of Fluor Daniel and Morrison Knudson. The parkway is scheduled to open in early 2002.

The old convention center in Richmond is being consumed — literally. The new construction is going on around the old structure, quadrupling square footage and nearly tripling exhibit space. The new facility will have 650,000 gross square feet with 180,000 square feet of flat floor exhibit space. It will include a 30,000-square-foot ballroom, meeting space and office space. The Richmond Visitor's Center will relocate to the facility.

The first phase of the project, which includes the ballroom, adjacent parking deck and part of the new exhibit space, will open in early 2001. At that point, the existing convention center will be closed so construction can continue. The entire facility should open around Labor Day 2002.

The project is being handled by The Greater Richmond Convention Center Authority, a cooperative effort among the city of Richmond and the counties of Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover. Other than a $10 million one-time grant from the state, all money for construction will come from hotel taxes in these municipalities.

Architects for the project are Thompson Dentulett Stainback and Associates of Atlanta, in association with Richmond-based SMBW. The convention center authority received permission from the state to hire a construction manager for the project, and Turner/Russel/Davis was created from three construction firms: Richmond-based Turner construction, Atlanta-based Russell and Richmond's Davis Brothers.

Volvo Trucks' expansion of three buildings at its New River Valley assembly plant is expected to result in the creation of 1,277 new full-time jobs and increase the production of commercial trucks by 66 percent, to 50,000 units annually. About 8,200 square feet will be added to the cab-assembly building, 70,000 square feet to the paint facility and 35,000 square feet to the assembly building. The cost includes installation of additional robotic systems and environmentally friendly manufacturing equipment.

The plant recently added 600 employees so it could staff a second shift. The other 677 jobs are expected to be added when the expansion is complete at the end of 2002.

Construction began in June with site preparation. The project manager is South Carolina-based architectural and engineering firm Lockwood Green & Co.

Eye-care company Johnson & Johnson selected Roanoke for its eyeglass lens research and manufacturing plant. No doubt Roanoke optometrist Ron Blum, founder of Innotech, was a factor. Johnson & Johnson purchased Innotech in 1997. Not much is known about this 143,000-square-foot facility because the company is keeping it under wraps.

Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern in Roanoke is the architectural and engineering firm. New Jersey-based Huber Hunt Nichols is serving as construction manager.

This city-managed project involves construction of a 10-mile, four-lane toll road from the Great Bridge bypass in the city of Chesapeake to the North Carolina line. When completed in 2001, the project will complete the 16-mile Chesapeake Expressway.

The primary contractors are Suburban Grading and Utilities Inc. of Norfolk for the southern four miles; Driggs Corp. of Capitol Heights, Md., for the northern six miles; and Mid- Eastern Builders Inc. of Chesapeake for the toll building and plaza. VDOT's contribution to the project is $48.1 million; additional funding comes from the federal government and from toll-supported revenue bonds.

Welcome to Richmond International Airport. Passengers will be arriving on the lower level and departing from the upper level. At least that's what will be happening when the $98.3 million terminal development project is complete in March 2005. Work began on the associated roadways leading to the new terminal area in May.

Several smaller projects are going on simultaneously, including the construction of a $12 million, 610-space rental car area and parking garage and a $6 million storm-water management facility.

O'Brien Kreitzberg's Richmond office is serving as program manager. Gresham Smith and Partners of Richmond is the architectural and design firm. Engineers for the roadway portion of the project are The LPA Group and Lanna, Dunlap and Spriggs, both of Richmond. Major contracts to date have been awarded to Dwight Snead Construction of Richmond for clearing grub, and Simons Hauling Co. of Richmond for the roadway package.

This road project has its own Web site (www.springfieldinterchange.com) and newsletter. Small wonder — the eight-year project will affect 370,000 cars per day. When it's all said and done, the interchange's cost will total $350 million, and I-95 will be 24 lanes wide between the Capital Beltway and Franconia Road. The project also includes more than 50 bridges and flyovers. The $90.3 million portion of the project represents phases two and three of the eight-phase project.

Earlier this summer, work started on construction of new ramps to I-95 north and south on Route 644, Old Keene Mill Road, and construction of a new Amherst Street Bridge, which will allow more lanes below on Old Keene Mill Road. This phase of the project also includes the Route 644 bridge reconstruction. Shirley Contracting Corp. of Lorton is the primary contractor for the project.

Obici Hospital in Suffolk could move into its new home on its 50th anniversary. Site preparation for the $85 million hospital has started, and construction is expected to begin this month. While the hospital campus will be twice as big — 63 acres compared with the current 33 acres — the new 332,387-square-foot hospital is licensed for fewer beds. Currently, Obici has 222 beds. The new license has been approved for 124 beds, although Obici has submitted a request to increase that figure. The new facility will include a large atrium, a grand staircase, a cafeteria with patio dining and seven operating rooms, one of which is for the maternity wing's labor, delivery and recovery area.

The new location is about one mile from the current Obici Hospital, which opened in 1951. The architect for the project is Dallas-based HKS. Mitchell Associates from Wilmington, Del., is the interior designer, Kimley-Horn & Associates of Virginia Beach is the civil engineer, W.M. Jordan from Newport News is the general contractor and Gilbane Building Co. of Laurel, Md., is the project manager. Construction is expected to take 24 months.

AOL just keeps expanding its main campus. Its fourth building was barely complete when the company broke ground on buildings five and six. The two new buildings in Loudoun County will total 400,000 square feet of office space and will house 1,200 employees. AOL's aggregate spending in the state, including these and other announced projects, totals more than $1.3 billion.

Washington, D.C.-based Ai is the architect for the buildings; Allen/Shariff, which has offices in D.C. and Maryland, is the engineering firm, and Hitt Contracting of Fairfax is the general contractor. The first of the buildings is scheduled to open in April of next year, the second in September.

HP Hood, a dairy processor headquartered in Chelsea, Mass., is building a plant in Frederick County. The facility will make extended-shelf-life beverages by using state-of-the-art, ultra-high-temperature manufacturing and packaging technologies. It will be used for Hood-brand businesses as well as products that Hood produces for national-brand partners, such as Land O' Lakes, Nestle Quik and Carnation Coffeemate.

Work on the 270,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed next spring. Suitt Construction Co. of Midlothian is the general contractor for the job.

Fairfax Adult Detention Center $66.5 million

At one point, most of the 10-story expansion of the Fairfax Adult Detention Center was lying on its side in Winchester. That's because about 90 percent of the building, including all the cells, were made of precast concrete by Shockey Brothers in Winchester. When completed later this year, the detention center will be bigger by 330,000 square feet and 768 new cells. Another 50,000 square feet of the existing building are being renovated. The new and existing buildings sit next to each other and will be connected by a two-story bridge. Overall capacity will be 1,400 inmates.

The architect for the project was Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum of Washington, D.C. Engineers are Hankins & Anderson Inc. of Richmond.

In 1998, the governor signed legislation providing $58 million over three years to build this center to study the integration of systems and application of emerging technologies on future aircraft carriers. The government funding also includes $40 million to begin operating the center, which will conduct on-site testing, design and laboratory research for next-generation Navy vessels.

About 400 people from Newport News Shipbuilding, the Virginia shipbuilding industry, the U.S. Navy, Virginia universities and high-tech contractors will be working at this 230,000-square-foot center in downtown Newport News. Operations are expected to begin in mid-2001. The architect for the project is Norfolk-based Clark Nexsen.

Forest City Enterprises, a Cleveland-based real estate developer, has begun the first phase of a $90 million-plus renovation of Tobacco Row in Richmond. The total project calls for renovating warehouses into 600 apartments and retail space. In this first, $55 million phase, the old Philip Morris building will be converted into 171 apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail space. A parking deck is also included in this phase. Next comes the Consolidated building, which will feature 130 apartments and another 25,000 square feet of retail space. That building is scheduled to be finished next year. The four subsequent phases will involve each of the other four tobacco warehouses the company has purchased. The entire project should take about seven years and cover about 15 blocks along the river.

Barton & Henneman of Columbia, Md., is the architect. Forest City Enterprises has its own construction company doing the work.

Orbital Sciences Corp. is adding four buildings to its campus in Loudoun County. The company plans to expand its 175,000-square-foot headquarters to 600,000 square feet by the end of 2001. Orbital expects to occupy the first of the new buildings by midsummer 2000. Three of the buildings will include office space and lab areas, while one building will house satellite-manufacturing operations. The $50 million price tag includes the cost of satellite test equipment.

Washington, D.C.-based Ai is the architect, Westbrook Communities Boston Properties is the developer and CB Commercial of McLean is the real estate company.

This is the completion of a three-building project: a new Media General headquarters, completed in May 1998; a new Richmond Times-Dispatch office building; and a parking garage. Phase two, the newspaper building and the parking deck, are scheduled for completion in December. The two downtown office buildings have matching facades that feature silver columns and reflective glass, and they are connected by a tunnel under Franklin Street.

CMSS Architects of Virginia Beach designed the structure and interior of the headquarters building and the structure of the Times-Dispatch building. Interior design for that building was done by Interior Planners of Richmond. The general contractor is the Richmond office of Hourigan Martone Construc-tion Corp.

Four jurisdictions — the city of Fredericksburg plus the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania and King George — comprise the jail authority overseeing this project. The 375,000-square-foot facility in Stafford County is expected to open next summer. The jail will house up to 598 inmates, with an additional 60 specialty beds in medical or direct-supervision areas. The jail could employ about 235 people. The existing Rappahannock Regional Jail in Fredericksburg will no longer be used as a jail when the new facility opens.

Norfolk-based MMM was the architect for the project. Construction manager for the project is White/MK, a combination of L. White & Co. of Fredericksburg and Morrison Knudsen of Boise, Idaho.

I-95 James River Bridge
$43.3 million

Reconstruction of the six-lane James River Bridge is expected to be complete in spring 2001. Work began off site this spring. In the spring of 2000, the Interstate 95 bridge will be closed at night for redecking. A total of 92 preconstructed span segments and six plate-girder spans will be replaced on the 4,185-foot bridge. Preliminary work also includes widening a section of Jefferson Davis Highway to six lanes between Hopkins Road and Maury Street in Richmond. When the bridge opened in 1958, it carried about 52,000 vehicles per day. In 1998, average daily traffic flow was 110,000 vehicles.

The primary contractor is Archer Western Contractors Ltd. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Management and technology consulting firm Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. is expanding its headquarters in McLean with the addition of a third building, a 180,000-square-foot structure. Several years ago, the company added a 10-story building adjacent to its headquarters building and added a large atrium and conference center connecting the two facilities. This third building, called the Booz Building, also will be connected to the atrium and conference center, forming a star pattern. When completed early next year, it is expected to house more than 700 employees. Currently, more than 2,000 employees work at the complex.

The building is being developed by Equity Office Properties Trust of Chicago. Work is being performed under the supervision of Equity Office's Construction and Engineering Department. Davis Carter Scott of McLean is the architect; Clark Construction Group of Bethesda, Md., is the contractor, and The Orr Co. of Vienna is providing local construction management.

A nine-level building between MCV's Nelson Clinic and main hospital will serve as the new entrance to the main hospital and house outpatient services. The new building will connect to both existing facilities on several floors.

This is the largest of the construction and renovation projects taking place in the hospital. Hammes Co. of Richmond is the developer. The architectural team is a joint venture between Baskervill & Son of Richmond and Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott of Boston. Mechanical and electrical design is also being handled by Baskervill; civil engineering is being done by Draper Aden & Associates' Richmond office, and Daniels & Associates of Richmond is handling the structural design. The Richmond office of Gilbane Building Co. is the contractor for the project. Demolition and excavation is anticipated in October and construction is expected to take two years.