A crane set the last structural piece atop the new Wadsworth Center laboratory in Albany this week, and Governor Hochul's office was there to call it official: topped out, on a $1.7 billion public health lab that's been climbing for years on the state's own capital dime.
This is Phase 4 of the Harriman State Office Campus redevelopment — the state's long-running push to replace Wadsworth's aging labs with a modern facility built to handle everything from newborn screening to outbreak response. Topping out means the structure is done; next comes the interior build-out — mechanical, electrical, lab fit-out, the work that actually turns a frame into a working biosafety lab.
For contractors, a topping-out at this price point is a signal, not a finish line. The structural trades are wrapping up, which means the next wave — MEP, specialty lab systems, casework, environmental controls — is about to go out to bid or is already moving through the state's procurement pipeline. DASNY has handled design and construction management on past Harriman campus phases; firms chasing state lab work should be watching DASNY's and OGS's solicitation boards now, because interior fit-out packages on a job this size typically split into multiple prime contracts.
A $1.7 billion state lab isn't a one-shot — it's years of sequenced work, and the trades that win the fit-out phase are the ones already registered and tracking the agency's board when the next package drops.
The governor's office announcement did not break out remaining contract values or bid dates for subsequent phases; contractors should check DASNY's and OGS's procurement portals directly for the next solicitation.