The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine plans to add a $94 million laboratory to the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory project will consolidate two state-funded programs: the Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology Research Laboratory and the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System.
The state is covering most of the estimated cost for the 63,000-square-foot laboratory building, according to Mark Kocent, university architect for Penn. The project is currently awaiting regulatory approval.
Designed across two floors, the new facility will provide wet research laboratories, office space for researchers and veterinary scientists, a specialized necropsy suite, and Biosafety Level 3 laboratory space. The necropsy suite will allow for detailed post-mortem examinations to identify causes of death, disease progression, and other health concerns, while the biosafety laboratory will be dedicated to studying potentially dangerous disease agents.
The new facility has been in planning for several years, with the services it will provide previously handled at remote locations.
“The building will allow everything to be centralized and modernized in an all-purpose facility built for this kind of research,” said Kocent.
Read more about New Bolton Center adding a new laboratory in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on VISTA Today in January 2026.
