FDA CONSOLIDATED CAMPUS' FIRST PHASE COULD BE COMPLETED IN 1997

FDA CONSOLIDATED CAMPUS' FIRST PHASE COULD BE COMPLETED IN 1997, a General Services Administration prospectus development study of the proposed campus forecasts. The projections, prepared by independent consultants and authorized by last year's FDA Revitalization Act, are based on the assumption that Congress will appropriate sufficient funds for the facilities beginning in 1993. The study foresees four phases of development for the campus, to be completed between early 1997 and 2000. To meet FDA requirements in the year 2000, a consolidated campus would have to be 300 to 450 acres in size with 4.6 mil. square feet of facilities for a staff of 8,260, GSA said. Total estimated project cost is between $ 1.05 bil. and $ 1.35 bil. The first phase of construction, the study projects, would be a building for the commissioner's office, a power plant, and facilities for Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition personnel who have not moved already into the agency's new Module 1 facility in Beltsville, Md. The second phase calls for the relocation of the Center for Veterinary Medicine and the Center for Devices and Radiologic Health. The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research would move next. Finally, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and the remainder of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition would relocate to the campus. The order of consolidation roughly reflects the consultants' assessment of which centers most need new facilities, GSA said. GSA consultants are currently making a preliminary study of several proposed sites for the campus. The government advertised for suitable locations in March, GSA said. The consolidated campus, while authorized by the Revitalization Act, is not yet funded, GSA noted. The Bush Administration has not requested any funding for the project in its FY 1992 budget proposal. Members of the Edwards Committee called the chances of receiving such funding "an unrealistic expectation in the current economic environment," and characterized the dream of a campus as "a pie in the sky" ("The Pink Sheet" Jan. 28, p. 4). The committee's report concludes that consolidation "may be an unrealistic expectation, given the practical difficulties and long lead times of such a plan." HHS Secretary Sullivan, however, said that he supports a consolidated facility and authorized FDA Commissioner Kessler to go ahead with initial planning ("The Pink Sheet" May 20, p. 11). The GSA study is one step towards the campus project. The Center for Devices and Radiologic Health's Office of Training and Support has been preparing a videotape intended to be an "executive summary" of consolidation issues. The tape includes footage of existing facilities, interviews with FDA officials, and architectural concepts of the campus. The final version of the tape will be sent to Associate Commissioner for Management and Operations Sharon Smith Holston, who will be responsible for the tape's ultimate use. The tape is expected to be ready by the week of June 24, the office said. Holston and members of her staff also have held meetings to discuss consolidation and related issues. On May 23, FDAers met with members of Sen. Byrd's (D-W. Va.) staff and the Senate Appropriations/Agriculture Subcommittee staff for a briefing on the issue.