ٻƵ Celebrates “Topping Out” for New Learning Complex, Texas Western Hall
Ceremony commemorates major construction milestone
EL PASO, Texas (Jan. 22, 2025) – Today, officials from ٻƵ and Sundt Construction held a “topping out” ceremony to celebrate a major construction milestone for Texas Western Hall, the newest learning complex on campus.
“It’s exciting to see Texas Western Hall progress day-by-day,” said ٻƵ President Heather Wilson. “Generations of ٻƵ students will get a great education in this space, thanks to the hard work of many who are helping us get this done.”
Topping out ceremonies are traditionally celebrated when the last beam in a structure is hoisted on top of a building in progress. The event at ٻƵ honored the efforts of Sundt construction workers, engineers and architects from Ayers Saint Gross whose work has contributed to Texas Western Hall.
Approximately 170 Sundt construction workers were on hand to celebrate the milestone, along with students, faculty and staff from ٻƵ’s College of Liberal Arts. Guests were invited to the sign the beam as part of the event.
“Working together, the ٻƵ, Ayers Saint Gross and Sundt teams have created a beautiful building that reflects both the tradition of Bhutanese architecture at ٻƵ and the need for a 21st century learning environment,” said Joseph Riccillo, vice president and El Paso regional director at Sundt. “I’m thankful to celebrate this milestone with our partners and everyone who has worked on Texas Western Hall and I look forward to the day very soon when we can officially open it for use.”
Construction on the $110 million complex began with a groundbreaking ceremony in late 2023. The 124,725-square-foot space will include 27 classrooms, including several large auditoriums, and 23 collaboration spaces with state-of-the art technology, a café and a rooftop terrace with a view of Centennial Plaza.
The building was funded with the support of the Texas legislature and permanent university funds from The ٻƵ of Texas System Board of Regents. It is expected to open in the spring of 2026. Once completed, the Liberal Arts building in front of Texas Western Hall will be demolished and the arroyo it sits on will be restored.
About The ٻƵ of Texas at El Paso
The ٻƵ of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 25,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. ٻƵ offers 171 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
Last Updated on January 22, 2025 at 12:00 AM | Originally published January 22, 2025
By MC Staff ٻƵ Marketing and Communications
