Gilbane-Turner Joint Venture Tops Out $1.7 Billion New York Health Lab

Industry Pulse News Desk · 2026-10-23

The new Wadsworth Center Laboratory facility will consolidate five New York State Department of Health laboratories onto a single integrated campus.

ALBANY, N.Y. — A construction joint venture between Gilbane Building Company and Turner Construction Company has completed the structural topping out of the new $1.7 billion Wadsworth Center Laboratory facility in Albany.

The topping out milestone marks the placement of the final structural beam for the multi-story public health complex. Construction teams on site will now transition focus toward completing the exterior building envelope and installing complex mechanical, electrical, and specialized laboratory plumbing systems required for the high-tech facility.

Once construction is fully completed, the unified Wadsworth Center Laboratory campus will bring together five separate New York State Department of Health laboratories into a single integrated research property. The centralized layout is designed to replace aging infrastructure while streamlining collaborative scientific research, routine environmental testing, and emergency public health monitoring across the state.

The new campus is engineered to support advanced diagnostic and research capabilities, incorporating high-containment research spaces, specialized testing units, and administrative offices designed to current biosafety and security standards. The modernized facility will strengthen the state's capacity to monitor infectious diseases and coordinate rapid responses to public health threats.

The multi-year development project represents one of the largest public sector capital infrastructure investments in New York State history. Site construction will continue under the joint venture management team as specialized trade contractors begin interior fit-outs, cleanroom construction, and scientific equipment installation over the coming project phases.