KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory plans to demolish roughly one-third of its primary Livermore, Calif. footprint over the next 16 years as it clears space and reduces infrastructure risk to make way for new mission capabilities.
Mark Costella, transition and disposition program manager at LLNL, said at the Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association’s (ETEBA) annual conference last week the laboratory’s existing campus has evolved over decades without a unified site design, leaving a collection of facilities that need to be removed or replaced.
“Within the next 16 years, we’re going to be demolishing to build new capabilities,” Costella said during an NNSA business growth opportunities panel.
Costella said the demolition program is intended both to clear space for new facilities and to reduce risk at the laboratory. Roughly one-third of the Livermore site’s footprint is represented by facilities slated for demolition, according to Costella.
The effort is part of a broader campus modernization. LLNL expects to build new mission-enabling facilities while removing older structures, with the laboratory planning to stand up roughly twice as much new footprint as it takes down in the coming years, Costella said.
The work will affect LLNL’s primary Site 200 in Livermore. The laboratory also operates Site 300, located about 20 miles outside Livermore.
Costella described the existing Livermore campus as a collection of facilities that grew over time as the laboratory expanded its mission. The site was established in 1952 after the Atomic Energy Commission acquired space for Lawrence Livermore’s work.E
