Eight weeks after the first column was erected, the final steel beam will be lifted into place atop the structure that will eventually become Northern Kentucky University’s new Health Innovation Center.
NKU and Turner Construction will hold a Topping Out Ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 8 to mark the historic occasion. The campus community is invited to sign the final steel beam, which will then be lifted into place atop the frame of the new academic facility.
“It has been truly exciting to watch this new academic facility take shape on our campus,” said NKU President Geoffrey S. Mearns. “We hope that students, faculty, staff, and our friends in the community will join us to mark this important milestone in the center’s journey toward completion.”
The new academic facility is set to open in 2018. It will be home to NKU’s College of Health Professions and will also bring together experts from each of NKU’s six colleges, who will create transdisciplinary teams to study health care from new perspectives.
The approach will combine data analytics, psychology, preventative care, and holistic approaches to help address population health challenges such as addiction and chronic illness. New academic offerings will include an addiction science program.
The project includes the renovation of Founders Hall, NKU’s second-oldest academic building, and construction of a new adjacent facility on a 2.2-acre site on the northwest side of the University’s Highland Heights campus. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in October 2015.
In 2014, the Kentucky General Assembly allocated $97 million to the project. St. Elizabeth Healthcare has also invested $8 million to construct and equip the two-story, state-of-the-art St. Elizabeth Healthcare Simulation Center, providing a high-tech learning experience for students.
The facility is designed by CO Architects of Los Angeles and GBBN Architects of Cincinnati. The construction manager is Turner Construction of Cincinnati.
The public beam signing begins at 11 a.m. on the plaza in front of Griffin Hall. Brief remarks and the lifting of the beam will follow at 11:30 a.m. Parking is available in Lot K on Kenton Drive.
Northern Kentucky University