Dimeo Construction Company held a Topping-Off ceremony on September 8th, for the three-story, $40 million Johnson and Wales University New Academic Building in the Jewelry District downtown. A tradition within the construction industry, the topping off ceremony marks the moment when the highest structural point in the building construction has been attained. It is customary to sign the final steel beam before it is hoisted into place.
Construction is expected to be completed by July 2016 and is expected to be the first development on the former Interstate-195 lands in Providence, which were made available following the relocation of the highway.
The project will place a 71,000-square-foot building at the corner of Friendship and Chestnut streets, and will house the university’s School of Engineering and Design, and College of Arts and Sciences biology program.
The building will include classrooms, offices, assembly spaces, an outdoor courtyard and labs for programs such as robotics, drawing, game and network simulation, network engineering and sustainable architecture, according to a fact sheet distributed by the university.
The architect is Edward Rowse Architects of Providence and Architectural Resources Cambridge, of Massachusetts. Landscape design will be by Birchwood Design Group of Providence.