Raising the Roof: Hope College celebrates topping out of new $65M business gateway
Hope College reached a pivotal construction milestone on Thursday, Sept. 17, hoisting the final structural steel beam into place for its highly anticipated $65 million Economics and Business building.
HOLLAND — Hope College reached a pivotal construction milestone on Thursday, Sept. 17, hoisting the final structural steel beam into place for its highly anticipated $65 million Economics and Business building.
"As this beam goes up with our signatures on it, it's not just our signatures that will be going up, but with that beam... also our hopes and our prayers," said Hope President Matt Scogin. "This structure is simply the staging ground where our students will be formed, equipped, and then sent out... as ambassadors of hope, as people who are daring enough to bring hope to this broken and despairing world."
The traditional "topping out" ceremony drew crowds of students, faculty, and community leaders to the construction site along East Eighth Street, signaling the halfway mark for a project aimed at bridging the gap between the campus and downtown Holland.
"What was once a set of drawings and an idea is now something that we can walk around, stand next to, and really begin to appreciate," said Nick Dutler, director of operations. "[This site] is now a tremendous mesh point between Hope College and the city itself."
The 74,000-square-foot, three-story facility will serve as a centralized hub for Hope’s largest academic department, which is currently scattered across 11 different campus locations. [ONN photos/Cathy Seaver]
The 74,000-square-foot, three-story facility will serve as a centralized hub for Hope’s largest academic department, which is currently scattered across 11 different campus locations. Once open, the building will house nine high-tech classrooms, an auditorium, community retail spaces, and a first-floor cafe, all surrounded by expansive public green space.
Funding for the project stems from the college's ambitious "Hope College Means Business" capital campaign, which reached its initial fundraising goals ahead of schedule. With the structural framework now complete, crews will pivot to enclosing the building ahead of winter.
"I want to preserve what makes Hope so unique in this vast world of higher ed business programs. I want to ensure that the generations of students who enroll in the decades to come practice their Christian faith without sacrificing their educational excellence," said Campaign Co-Chair Carol Van Andel.
The facility remains on track for its grand opening in August 2028.
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