Construction milestone marks placement of final structural steel beam for Hope College's largest academic building project.
Hope College and OAK Construction hosted a “Topping Out” ceremony to celebrate the construction crews and campus personnel behind the progress to date on Hope’s new economics and business building taking shape in downtown Holland.
The Sept. 17 ceremony marked the placement of the final structural steel beam—adorned
with the traditional “topping-out” evergreen tree—onto Hope's new three-story, 74,000-square-foot
economics and business facility. Dozens of project donors, and Hope College faculty
and staff signed the final beam with their signatures before it was lifted and placed
on the highest point of the facility.
“Beyond our signatures on this beam, are our hopes and prayers, which will be physically embedded in this new structure,” said Matt Scogin, Hope College president. “Our prayers are for this facility to facilitate a movement of God’s work through the students here and throughout the world, where we’ll send them as ambassadors of Hope.”
As Hope College'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, Hope College 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 — 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 “near misses”
- The facility will open in August 2028
Attending the ceremony and sharing remarks about the project were: Carol Van Andel ‘81 and Paul Boersma ‘82 — campaign cabinet co-chairs; Matt Scogin ‘02 — Hope College president; Nick Duthler ‘09 — Hope College director of operations; and Matt Hulswit — OAK lead project manager.
About the New Facility
In addition to serving as the home for Hope’s 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’s stone exterior and design elements are intentionally designed to mirror those of Hope’s Dimnent Chapel, which is also a legacy of former Hope president Edward Dimnent’s leadership.
To date, capital campaign committee volunteers and Hope College staff have secured $57 million in philanthropic commitments for its economics and business project. Those commitments include support for the new $65 million facility — 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.