Centex Construction Company Awarded FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Office Tenant Buildout.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Centex Construction Company's Mid Atlantic Division has received a $21 million contract to perform the tenant buildout for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) office building in White Oak, Md. The contract was awarded by the U.S. General Services Administration, National Capital Region. Construction is underway and is slated for completion in July 2005.

The new space will be home to FDA employees and will contain 550,000 square feet upon completion. It will include five wings of office space and support areas. Wings A, B, C and D will each have six floors. Wing E will have four floors. Wing A will be connected to an existing lab by a pedestrian bridge. Architectural features will include marble stone flooring, granite stone tile and aluminum framed office fronts with acid etched glass.

Under a separate contract, Centex Construction Company is also performing construction services for this base building, which is the largest building planned for the FDA campus. Centex's core and shell contract includes construction of the concrete structure with a brick, limestone and aluminum window/curtainwall skin, as well as the interior core, including the elevator lobby and the public restrooms. Construction of the base building is slated for completion in December 2004.

Highlights of the FDA Consolidation Project:

The construction of the CDER Office Building is Phase 2a of FDA's multi-phase consolidation program for a new campus-style development of 14 interconnected buildings. The program is underway to consolidate the CDER, Center for Biological Evaluation and Research (CBER), the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the Office of Regulatory Affairs and the Office of the Administrator into the Federal Research Center. The entire campus, located at the former Naval Surface Warfare Center, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010.

Kling, in association with RTKL, Washington, D.C., are the design architects and engineers for the entire consolidation. They designed a campus environment in which the buildings become wings, or quadrants, centralized around historic Building No. 1, which was originally the Navy Ordnance Lab. It later became the Federal Research Center's main administrative building. Building No. 1 will serve as the campus' master entrance and central administrative office. To maintain historic continuity, Building No. 1 will have a natural prominence on the completed campus, and all other buildings will be located a respectful distance from it. The newly constructed buildings, although modern in design, will be compatible with Building No. 1 and built with similar materials and a comparable level of detailing.

The interior design of all the planned buildings includes unique floor plans featuring narrow wings with a depth of approximately 75 feet. Also distinctive are the buildings' cores, designed at the intersection of the wings instead of at the center like many office buildings. In addition, the interior design incorporates large blocks of unobtrusive space with large windows to maximize space and lighting.

Centex Construction Company, a leader in the commercial construction industry for more than 65 years, provides general contracting, at-risk construction management, design-build, preconstruction and turnkey services. Centex Construction Company operates a full-service division in Fairfax, Va., serving the Mid Atlantic region. Centex Construction Company is a subsidiary of Centex Construction Group, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Centex Corporation (NYSE:CTX). Centex is listed for the ninth year in a row as one of the nation's top five contractors and was recently ranked No. 1 in domestic general building revenue for the fourth consecutive year by Engineering News-Record magazine.