A milestone in the construction of VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital’s new 166,700 square foot facility was reached as the final steel beam was placed atop the structure.

The topping-out ceremony was held Thursday at the new hospital site, located at 1755 N. Mecklenburg Ave. in South Hill.

W. Scott Burnette, CEO, VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital, said, “I want to thank everyone that came here today and for their on-going support for CMH, and I especially want to thank the senior leadership for Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Health System for not only taking their time to come to this event but for the phenomenal investment in facilities, physicians, and new medical services they are bringing to this region.”

“This new building is a symbol of hope, a symbol of healing, a symbol of spirit, the spirit of this community,” said Marsha D. Rappley, M.D., CEO, VCU Health System, VCU Vice President for Health Sciences.

“When we think about the relationship we’ve had here with South Hill for about 25 years, the striking thing is the way this community is so supportive of the needs of the people who live here and that strikes a chord with us. This building is about the future and it’s about the opportunity of bringing better health to the people of this region.”

The ceremony is a long-time construction tradition signifying that the highest point of the structure has been reached. It means that the building is now as tall as it is going to be, and now the construction crew can begin to put on the roof and exterior.

DPR Construction, of Richmond, is the general contractor for the project with SmithGroupJJR as its design partner. JLL, also of Richmond, is handling project management for the construction of the new facility.   

Burnette also said that, as VCU Health CMH had hoped, DPR has involved as many local contractors as possible for the construction of the new hospital.

Currently, DPR has contracted seven local trade partners and 28 local businesses/vendors. Also the steel source for the new facility came from SteelFab, Inc. in Emporia. A total of 1,040 tons of steel (covering 165,134 square feet) has been used in construction which has taken 11,000 man hours to fabricate.

The construction of the new hospital is set to be completed in the summer of 2017 with the scheduled opening to be November 2017.