Validation, not construction, is the long pole in a life sciences project, and the builder who understands that writes the schedule differently. A building can be physically complete and still unusable until air balance, pressure cascades, utility qualification and documentation are accepted by the owner's quality group. We plan the construction sequence so that those activities start on the earliest possible date and are not squeezed into the last weeks.
Our clients in this segment are drug product manufacturers, contract development and manufacturing organizations, laboratory and pilot-plant operators and the developers who build for them. Their procurement teams look for documented quality in the builder's own work: traceable material certifications, a controlled submittal process, change control with sign-off, and a turnover package organized the way the validation team will use it. We deliver those as standard, not as add-ons.
The buildings range from a few thousand square feet of lab and flex space to full manufacturing suites. The technical detail for a production facility is on our pharmaceutical manufacturing page, and the sections below explain what the Colorado market looks like and how we manage the schedule and risk for a buyer in it.
Campuses between Boulder and Aurora
Life sciences real estate in Colorado clusters around research universities and large corporate sites. Redtail Ridge in Louisville is a 389 acre, 2.6 million square foot life sciences campus along US 36 by developer Sterling Bay, with $88 million in general obligation bonds for infrastructure reported on March 10, 2025. In Longmont, AstraZeneca announced on October 10, 2016 that it paid $64.5 million for 159 acres of vacant land just west of Amgen's Longmont campus to support its Boulder operations.
Flatiron Park in east Boulder is a master-planned business park of about 200 acres with about 2.3 million rentable square feet and more than 100 companies. The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora covers 256 acres, or 578 acres with the Fitzsimons Life Science District, and has nearly 25,000 faculty and staff. These places differ in scale, but they share a common need for utility capacity, clean construction practices and talent access. We work with owners and developers early enough to shape site plans, because utility size and building massing are fixed long before the first tenant fit-out.
Permitting and the code edition for each campus
A life sciences building typically falls under several authorities. The building department reviews structure, egress and occupancy, the fire authority reviews chemical storage and sprinkler design, and the state and utility providers review process wastewater, air emissions and electrical service. Hazardous material quantities in the laboratory control areas drive occupancy classification, and we ask the design team for the chemical inventory before the layout is finalized, since a control area boundary can reshape a floor plan.
Edition questions are local. The Home Builders Association of Metro Denver tracker dated January 20, 2026 lists Louisville as having adopted the 2024 IBC, 2024 IRC and 2024 IFC, effective December 6, 2025, and other cities in the same area are on different editions. We confirm the edition with the building department rather than the tracker, which is not an official source. Our permitting and entitlements coordination work keeps a matrix of every approval, the reviewer and the date it clears, and that matrix goes into the turnover binder for the validation team.
Design-build with the quality group at the table
We use design-build delivery for most life sciences work, since the architect, the process engineer and the contractor have to resolve the room layout, the air handling and the utility routing together. Our industrial design-build process starts with a user requirements document supplied by the owner. We translate it into a basis of design, a room data sheet for each space and a list of the finish and equipment items that need submittals with material certifications.
The quality group is part of the team from the first meeting. We agree on which documents are controlled, how redlines are tracked, and which inspections need a witness. Cleanability drives finish choices: seamless floors, coved bases, sealed penetrations and smooth ceiling surfaces. Mockups of a representative room let the quality group approve the finish before a hundred rooms are built. That investment cuts rework and gives the owner a documented standard.
Utilities, flexibility and the next process change
Pharmaceutical process needs change faster than buildings do. A suite designed for one product may need to be rebuilt for another within a few years, so we try to leave the owner capacity: spare space above the ceiling for pipe and duct, shared chases, valved stubs on process utilities and a floor that can carry more equipment than today's layout requires. These choices add a modest amount to first cost and often save a large amount when the line changes.
Process utilities deserve their own plan. Purified water, clean steam, compressed air, nitrogen, process cooling and vacuum are each built to a different standard and installed by specialty contractors. We schedule them as a system, coordinate the weld inspection and passivation steps, and keep the turnover documentation for each in the order the validation team needs it. Developers building flexible space for tenants can look at how our flex and light industrial approach leaves room for lab and light production fit-out.
Controlled work around hazardous and sensitive areas
Construction in or near a laboratory or production suite is controlled work. We follow the owner's permit-to-work system, protect occupied areas with sealed barriers and negative pressure when required, and monitor dust and cleanliness at the boundary. Hot work, confined space entry and lockout of utilities are planned with the owner's environmental, health and safety group, and we log every entry into a controlled space.
Hazardous materials need particular care when renovating older buildings. We survey for asbestos, lead and other legacy materials before demolition, and we treat sensitive neighbors, such as an adjacent production room, as part of the work area for planning purposes. Teams that make adjacent products, such as food and beverage processors, have similar cleanliness expectations, and we apply the same barrier discipline there.
A schedule built around qualification
We structure the schedule in four blocks: design and permitting, construction, startup and commissioning, and owner validation. Commissioning begins as soon as the first air handler can be run with temporary or permanent power, and the building automation system is brought online early so that balancing and control tests are not compressed. Where equipment will arrive from overseas, we tie the schedule to a freight forecast and carry float for customs and delivery to site.
The owner's validation team sets the real finish line, so we ask for its protocol dates and work backward. If a room is not ready by the start of its qualification window, the schedule says what is missing and who is responsible. Owners growing a campus in phases can also review how advanced manufacturing projects manage shutdown windows, a concern that arises when new construction connects to a running suite.
Send the user requirements and the validation dates
Share the user requirements document, room list, utility needs and the dates your quality team has set for qualification. We will return a basis of design, a submittal and documentation plan and a schedule that gives validation a protected window.
Common Questions
Do you build to current good manufacturing practice requirements?
We build to the owner's design, which carries the regulatory requirements for the product. Our role is to build exactly what the design documents specify, to document materials and inspections, and to deliver a record the quality unit can use. We do not claim to certify a facility or to replace the owner's quality system.
How do you handle submittals and material traceability?
Through a controlled log. Every submittal is numbered, reviewed, stamped and tracked, and items that need material certifications are held until the certificate is attached. At turnover, the certificates, test reports and inspection records are organized by system, so the validation team can find them without a search.
Can a lab or pilot plant be built inside an existing industrial building?
Often, if the structure, the electrical service and the mechanical capacity allow it. We check floor loads, vibration, ventilation and sprinkler design first, and we confirm with the building and fire authorities that the change of occupancy and hazardous material quantities are acceptable. A feasibility review is quick and avoids a costly redesign.
What causes the most delay on a life sciences project?
Late equipment, late design decisions on process utilities and slow air balancing. We attack each by releasing long-lead equipment early, holding design freeze dates and starting commissioning as soon as air can be moved. We also report open items weekly with a named owner.
How early should we involve a builder on a new campus?
Before the site plan is final. Utility corridors, building massing and stormwater facilities have the largest effect on cost and flexibility, and they are cheapest to change on paper. A builder's review of the plan during entitlement often saves months later.