HOLLAND, Mich. — Hope College marked a major construction milestone Thursday with a topping out ceremony for its new $65 million Department of Economics and Business building in downtown Holland.
WATCH: Hope College tops out new $65 million economics and business building in downtown Holland
The ceremony centered on the placement and signing of the structure's final and highest beam — a symbolic moment for the college's largest academic department.
"As that goes up, it's not just our names, but our hopes and our prayers for this facility are physically being embedded in the building. So I think it's both a milestone for the project and also a symbolic moment for what this project represents for us," said Hope College President Matt Scogin.
The 74,000-square-foot building will house the college's business, economics, and accounting departments, along with programs in finance, marketing, and operations. Scogin said the facility is designed to prepare students for more than professional success.
PRIOR COVERAGE: Hope College begins construction on $65 million building to accommodate growth
"Every student who walks through these doors will be equipped," Scogin said. "Our purpose is to bring hope to the world, so these students will be equipped not just with business prowess and technical competence, but they'll be equipped to bring hope to all corners of the marketplace."
The building will include 8 classrooms, 7 seminar rooms, 30 faculty offices for student advising and meetings, a 126-seat auditorium, 8 study rooms for student success and mentorship, project spaces for team collaboration and applied learning, an atrium and community spaces for networking, a coffee café, and a college retail spirit store.
The college's Department of Economics and Business serves more than 30% of the student population.
"These departments represent our largest departments by number of students, and so they had quite simply just outgrown their current space," Scogin said.
The new building is part of a larger campaign called Hope College Means Business, aimed at enhancing facilities and endowments for the department. Scogin said fundraising is ongoing.
"We've raised about 57 million so far. So we could still use some help if there's people out there who want to be part of this," Scogin said.
The building's location was intentional, placing it at the intersection of downtown 8th Street and the college campus.
"We're preparing students for business, and so we thought it would be appropriate to be connected to the business heart of the city of Holland," Scogin said.
Senior Emma Curtis, a double major in business and communications, said the location holds deeper significance.
"The north gateway is what they've been calling it, and I think that really just speaks [on] the power behind this being one of the first businesses in Holland, now on the same property that the business building will be on, and connecting downtown 8th Street to the college," Curtis said.
Curtis said the scattered locations of current department classrooms across campus create daily challenges.
"I actually have three business classes today, all in different parts of campus, so we only have 10 minutes to walk between classes. It takes me around 15 to commute," Curtis said.
Housing all departments under one roof will eliminate that problem. Curtis said students have had a voice in the project from the beginning.
"Students have been really a part of this project since it even begun 10 years ago, the thought process of it," Curtis said. "To, you know, have a say in what we see standing behind us has just been so full circle to kind of see it come to life now."
Curtis said her time in the department shaped her path, even though she arrived at Hope College without a clear direction.
"My experience here as a whole has just transformed me in so many ways personally, professionally, and spiritually," Curtis said. "I actually came to Hope having no idea what I wanted to do, got put into a freshman year business class and just absolutely loved it."
Curtis will graduate before the building opens, having accepted a full-time role at Stryker, a medical device sales company, in Kalamazoo. Still, she said the milestone means something to her.
"This just has been needed, if I'm being honest, for so long now. And I'm so glad that future business students here are going to have a place to call home, and I can come back as an alumni and kind of give back in a way that I haven't been able to see yet," Curtis said.
The new Department of Economics and Business building is scheduled to open for the fall 2028 semester.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
