Youngstown State University "topped off" steel construction of the new Williamson College of Business Administration during a ceremony Sept. 23.

Dozens of YSU employees and students, city and political officials and donors signed a white beam that was then lifted and put into place on the building.

Here are some facts about the ongoing construction project:

• Construction of the 110,000–square–foot building began in March, and the building will be open in time for fall 2010 classes.
• The building is located on the far south end of the YSU campus, on Phelps Street between Rayen and Wood streets.
• The building will provide cutting–edge classroom and laboratory facilities for the Williamson College of Business AdministrationÕs 1,950 students.
• The location will help better connect the college and the university to the downtown Youngstown business district.
• The three–story facility is about twice the size of the current business school building on Lincoln Avenue and will feature an atrium, a 200–seat auditorium, a financial services lab, a business communications and professional sales lab, classrooms, computer labs, faculty and administrative offices, and a conference center.
• The building is the centerpiece of YSUÕs Centennial Master Plan and represents the largest single capital expenditure in the universityÕs 101–year history.
• The facility is designed to meet the standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) U.S. Green Building Council Rating System.
• The total cost of the project is $34.3 million. YSU is raising $16 million in private donations for the project, including a $5 million gift from the family of the late Warren P. Williamson Jr. and a $4 million gift from Tony and Mary Lariccia. State dollars will fund the remaining part of the project.  

For more information, including a live Web–cam of the construction site, visit http://www.ysu.edu/williamson/new_building.shtml.

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