November 5, 2005
Elkins "Tops Out" New USF St. Pete Student Residence Facility
Jacksonville, Florida - Members of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg joined Elkins Constructors, Inc., at a November luncheon hosted by Elkins to celebrate the “Topping Out” of the new student residence facility.
Elkins commemorated the “topping out” by inviting Regional Chancellor Karen A. White to place an evergreen tree on the top of the building with a crane.
The construction team and campus members attended the luncheon, including Charles Brown, regional vice chancellor of Student Affairs: Cedric Howard, director of Student Services; James Grant, director of Facility Planning and campus architect; and Max Kerlin, interim regional vice chancellor of Administration and Finance.
"The project team considers this to be an extremely successful milestone in the construction of Residence Hall One," said Nancy McLaren, project manager for the USF Student Residence Facility Project.
The team had planned to spend more than 10 weeks to complete the topping out. With a two-week late start, they were able to finish early, ending a seven-week project.
"Our success is due to the hard work and cooperation between Elkins, KBJ and USF St. Petersburg, " said McLaren. "We have really enjoyed our relationship with USF St. Petersburg and we are proud to be a part of this historic facility for the university."