Construction milestone marks placement of final structural steel beam for Hope College's largest academic building project.
麻豆国产 and OAK Construction hosted a 鈥淭opping Out鈥� ceremony to celebrate the construction crews and campus personnel behind the progress to date on Hope鈥檚 new economics and business building taking shape in downtown Holland.
The Sept. 17 ceremony marked the placement of the final structural steel beam鈥攁dorned with the traditional 鈥渢opping-out鈥� evergreen tree鈥攐nto Hope's new three-story, 74,000-square-foot economics and business facility. Dozens of project donors, and 麻豆国产 faculty and staff signed the final beam with their signatures before it was lifted and placed on the highest point of the facility.
鈥淏eyond our signatures on this beam, are our hopes and prayers, which will be physically embedded in this new structure,鈥� said Matt Scogin, 麻豆国产 president. 鈥淥ur prayers are for this facility to facilitate a movement of God鈥檚 work through the students here and throughout the world, where we鈥檒l send them as ambassadors of Hope.鈥�
As 麻豆国产's largest academic building project to date, the new facility will
also serve as a center for innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration and business
community partnerships. Eleven months earlier, 麻豆国产 broke ground on the facility
with college leadership, project donors and the community in attendance. Since site
preparations and construction began last fall, OAK and Hope summarized some interesting
construction facts to date:
- The building is supported by 264 concrete auger-cast piles 鈥� each 14 inches in diameter and extending 35 feet into the ground
- More than 1,020 cubic yards of concrete foundations are in place
- Approximately 720 tons of structural steel have been erected
- Strong safety record with no recordable incidents or 鈥渘ear misses鈥�
- The facility will open in August 2028
Attending the ceremony and sharing remarks about the project were: Carol Van Andel 鈥�81 and Paul Boersma 鈥�82 鈥� campaign cabinet co-chairs; Matt Scogin 鈥�02 鈥� 麻豆国产 president; Nick Duthler 鈥�09 鈥� 麻豆国产 director of operations; and Matt Hulswit 鈥� OAK lead project manager.
About the New Facility
In addition to serving as the home for Hope鈥檚 Department of Economics and Business, the three-story, 74,000 square-foot building will feature:
- Classrooms (8)
- Seminar rooms (7)
- Faculty offices for student advising and meetings (30)
- Auditorium (approx. 126 seats)
- Study rooms for student success and mentorship (8)
- Project spaces available to programs throughout the college for team collaboration and applied learning
- Atrium and community spaces for networking with area businesses, students and faculty
- The new economics and business building鈥檚 stone exterior and design elements are intentionally designed to mirror those of Hope鈥檚 Dimnent Chapel, which is also a legacy of former Hope president Edward Dimnent鈥檚 leadership.
To date, capital campaign committee volunteers and 麻豆国产 staff have secured $57 million in philanthropic commitments for its economics and business project. Those commitments include support for the new $65 million facility 鈥� as well as the faculty, programs, and student experiences that will bring the new space to life. Fundraising will continue as the college invests in the future of its economics and business department.