Brasfield & Gorrie Completes Roxboro at Venable Center

The Research Triangle’s presence in the in-demand life sciences market has increased with the completion of the Roxboro at Venable Center in Durham, North Carolina, by general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie. The eight-story, mixed-use building includes 213,000 sq ft of shell office and lab space, including:

• Efficient floorplates
• Two independent sky deck lounges
• A fitness center
• A ground floor feature lobby with built-in millwork benches and collaboration furniture
• 7,161 sq ft of potential ground-level retail and/or conference space

The building’s capabilities include:

• Backup power
• A service elevator with direct access to the loading dock
• Two sanitary vents
• Domestic lines from the first floor to the top floor
• Chase locations for gas, water, compressed air, and/or lab waste
• A 4” lab waste line run underground and stubbed up to the second floor for future lab tenants

“The Roxboro is perfectly positioned to respond to the Triangle’s growing demand for life science space,” said Brasfield & Gorrie Vice President and Division Manager Scott Cooper. “Brasfield & Gorrie is passionate about building strong communities, and these projects play an important role in work that can shape our country’s future.”

Situated within a revitalized warehouse district once used for tobacco storage in the early 1900s, the Roxboro features a punched masonry expression and dark window mullions. Its northern façade is designed to reflect train noise while generous punched openings allow for city views to honor its downtown setting. In contrast, its southern façade, clad in glass, opens to the inner courtyard and connects to the rest of the Venable Center campus.

Brasfield & Gorrie has successfully completed more than $668 million in science and technology projects, accounting for 3.8 million sq ft of space. The general contractor recently earned ENR Southeast’s Best Renovation/Restoration award for the GRAIL Laboratory and Research Facility. Other recently completed Research Triangle projects include the Parexel Conference Center and the Longfellow Discovery 4 Speculative Laboratory. Brasfield & Gorrie’s in-house mechanical, electrical and plumbing expertise is essential to its success with office-to-lab conversions, and the general contractor can also provide sources for articles about this growing trend.