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A joint venture of Turner Construction and Gilbane Building Co. the construction of one has begun $1.7 billion public health facility in New York Stateaccording to a Jan. 27 announcement from New York City-based Turner. Architect HOK acts as a design partner.
According to the announcement, the new Wadsworth Center will bring together five unconnected sites in the Greater Albany area into a single modern campus. Designs for the center include a five-story, 663,000-square-foot laboratory.
The Wadsworth Center, that was first founded in 1901 and celebrates its 125th anniversary this year; is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies as a national reference center for a wide range of infectious diseases, environmental hazards, and toxicological threats.
The lab will be located on the W. Averell Harriman campus in Albany and will house nearly 800 workers. The facility is designed to adapt to evolving needs throughout its lifespan with an emphasis on energy efficiency and sustainability, according to Turner.
“By consolidating five legacy sites into one flexible, all-electric facility with a robust sequencing infrastructure, we are creating a resilient workplace that will serve New Yorkers for decades,” said David Schwartz, HOK’s director of science and technology.
According to the statement, the center manages a number of public health programs, which include:
- Public health emergency response. In 2022, he led the detection and surveillance of the 2022 poliovirus outbreak, including the identification of the first case of paralytic poliomyelitis in the United States.
- Surveillance and diagnosis of waste water. It serves as New York State’s primary wastewater surveillance laboratory for the detection of emerging pathogens and antimicrobial resistance.
- Environmental health The center serves as the lead laboratory for the state’s Safe Drinking Water Act and is a national leader in detection, monitoring and reporting.
- Conducts diagnostic tests. Wadworth’s diagnostic developments have advanced tests for tuberculosis, Mpox and influenza.
- Screening of newborns. Efforts advance newborn screening for more than 210,000 babies annually and more than 50 disorders.
- Regulatory and supervisory initiatives. The facility establishes and enforces rigorous statewide laboratory standards that exceed federal requirements.
Health projects are a sector keep the construction planning pace on track amid a broader industry slowdown, according to the Dodge Momentum Index. The measure tracks non-residential construction work entering the planning stages and leads the industry for a full year. The boost was up 7% month-over-month in December and up 37% year-over-year compared to 2024, increases Dodge largely attributes to data center and healthcare builds.
