Washington State University expects to select a consultant this month to start pre-design work on a multimillion-dollar biomedical sciences facility that WSU is proposing for its main campus in Pullman, Wash.


Virgil Hanson, project manager for the schools capital planning and development department, says the envisioned building would be the first phase of a plan to expand facilities for WSUs colleges of veterinary medicine and pharmacy.


So far, the estimated cost for that first phase is $25 million, Hanson says. He says, however, that the project might be reconfigured, which means the cost estimate could change.


As envisioned, the biomedical sciences facility would include about 56,000 square feet of floor space and would house biotechnology and biomedical research laboratories, offices, and conference areas. A vivarium, which is an indoor space for keeping and studying animals, also would be included in the facility.


Hanson says a short list of architectural firms was to be forwarded this week to the university presidents office, and a pre-design consultant is expected to be selected later this month.


Pre-design work is scheduled to be completed in April of 2005. Bryan Slinker, a department chairman for the College of Veterinary Medicine, says the school hopes to receive funding for building design from the state Legislature during the 2005-2007 biennium and receive money for construction during the following biennium. If that happens, the new facility likely would open in 2009.


WSU hasnt decided yet on a site for the facility, Slinker says. As envisioned, it would be built in the southeastern portion of campus, near a cluster of veterinary medicine buildings.


Another option being discussed, however, involves building a research building elsewhere on campus that would house laboratories for a host of biological disciplines, including veterinary medicine and pharmacy, but also others, he says.


Whichever scenario plays out, the veterinary medicine program will expand some programs currently taught in Wagner Hall and move research facilities out of McCoy Hall, Slinker says.


A new facility would ensure that the colleges research programs could handle expected growth.


Currently, Slinker says, We have a looming (space) crunch.


The veterinary medicine college received nearly $5.5 million in research grants last year, and that number has been growing steadily in recent years, Slinker says. New facilities would allow the amount of grant work to continue growing at a healthy pace, he says.