Lancaster Laboratories begins building expansion

For the 11th time in its history, Lancaster Laboratories is expanding. This time, construction crews are erecting a three-story facility that will mimic, and be connected to, Lancaster Labs’ current three-story building on the South Campus. (See Building “C” in site plan overview.) The new building will add 50,000 square feet to the current 175,000 square feet of space, bringing the total footage to 225,000. When fully occupied, it will house 150 additional employees. According to President J. Wilson Hershey, PhD, the facility is needed to accommodate growth in all service areas, especially for testing in support of biotechnology and new drug products. “The additional space will allow us to move parts of our existing pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical testing operations to the new building and also to develop a new reception area serving the entire complex,” he says. In the first phase of construction, the third floor and first floor reception area will be completed. The remaining space on the first and second floors is slated for completion during 2009 and 2010. Eleven laboratory modules on each floor will be fitted out and equipped as required for workload demands. Lancaster Laboratories is part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, which is providing the financial resources for the $16 million building project, with support from Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Because of the project’s significant economic impact and it’s potential for new job creation, the state is providing up to $560,000 in economic development assistance. Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development Dennis Yablonsky launched the building project at a ceremonial groundbreaking held on September 20. Citing the family-sustaining jobs to be created, he hailed the company as “a global leader in the biosciences.” Burkey Construction, the building contractor, plans to complete the first stage of construction in late 2008.