Due to the dangerous weather conditions, the Columbia State Topping Out Ceremony has been cancelled and according to the CSU website “will not be rescheduled due to construction timelines.”
The beam, bursting with love signed from Williamson County philanthropists, students, businesses, legislators, educators and so many others, will be hoisted and placed atop the new student services and administration building by construction crews, marking the progress of the new campus.
“This is another exciting milestone for the new Williamson Campus,” said Janet F. Smith, Columbia State president. “Though there are still several months of construction that remain, this event marks significant progress toward the completion of the new campus.”
Scandinavian in origin, the “topping out” of a new building is an ancient construction tradition that is associated with the raising of a building’s highest structural element. The tradition is typically celebrated by placing a tree and a flag on the beam before it is raised.
Since the public ceremony was cancelled due to weather conditions, construction crews will raise the beam and put it in place during their normal work hours.
The 36-acre property for Columbia State’s new Williamson Campus was purchased in 2011. Phase I of the new campus will accommodate approximately 2,200 students and will consist of an arts and humanities building; a science and technology building; and a student services and administration building.
Contact Sinclaire Sparkman at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter @sinclairesparky
