UC Celebrates 'Topping Off' of $118 Million Research and Education Building

CINCINNATI—The last major piece of structural steel will be hoisted into place on the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Academic and Research Excellence (CARE)/Crawley Building during a "Topping Off” ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25.

The ceremony involves putting a 14-foot, 700-pound steel beam into place atop the $118 million, nine-story building. Since Monday, UC Academic Health Center faculty, staff and students have been adding their signatures to the white-painted beam to leave their mark on UC history.

Construction workers will put an evergreen tree on the beam before it is hoisted. According to legend, the tree can signify many things, including a job well done, life and growth of the building and good luck for the building’s occupants. The installation signifies that the highest point of steel construction has been reached and completed.

UC faculty, staff and students will gather for the celebration on the top level of the Eden Avenue Garage on the Academic Health Center campus. The location will provide a level view of the beam placement and an excellent vantage point over the construction site across

UC president Nancy Zimpher, PhD, and Jane Henney, MD, senior vice president and provost for health affairs, will offer brief remarks.

The CARE/Crawley Building, in conjunction with the renovation of the Medical Sciences Building (MSB), is part of the University of Cincinnati’s overall master plan. The building will add 240,000 gross square feet of laboratory and educational space to the UC Academic Health Center campus.

The project, which includes the CARE/Crawley Building, phase 1 of the MSB renovation and the Eden Quad landscaping, will cost $185 million and is being supported by state and federal funding, gifts and bond financing. A major benefactor of the CARE/Crawley Building was the late Edith J. Crawley of Muncie, Ind., who bequeathed $12 million to the UC Academic Health Center to bolster research into eye disease in the elderly and to support medical students and professionals dedicated to eye research.

The project broke ground on Oct. 5, 2004, and is expected to be completed in late fall 2007. The principal architect for the project is Harley Ellis Devereaux of Cincinnati, Ohio.

In case of rain, the event will be held at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 31, at the same location. Media will be informed of event postponement by 8 a.m., Friday, Aug. 25.