COLORADO SPRINGS – In spite of frigid weather, more than 150 people joined Children’s Hospital Colorado, GE Johnson Construction Company, and all project partners on Friday to celebrate the topping out of Children’s Colorado’s newest pediatric hospital in Colorado Springs. The milestone ceremony comes after 10 months of active construction on the campus and was attended by local elected representatives, hospital leadership, staff, patients and community members who share the anticipation of the region’s first pediatric-only hospital. Also in attendance were two of the projects “Kids of the Quarter” – Children’s Colorado patients who visit the jobsite often to meet workers and learn about construction.
When complete, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs will span more than 280,000 square feet across five levels, and a basement. The hospital will have 110 beds and feature neonatal and pediatric intensive care rooms, a dedicated pediatric emergency department, pediatric operating rooms, pediatric imaging resources, an inpatient and outpatient center for Cancer and Blood Disorder space, and a pediatric sleep center. Every aspect of the project is being designed and built with children and their loved ones in mind, with the overall goal of creating a community resource for southern Colorado families. Every effort has been made to make the facility more accommodating to family members and emphasize a healing, peaceful environment for children.
Speaking on behalf of GE Johnson, CEO Jim Johnson explained the significance of the topping out ceremony and praised the unique momentum backing the project.
“There are very few jobs where, at this phase of the project, the energy is still growing,” said Johnson, “And I attribute that to Children’s Colorado’s participation and desire to increase their presence in Colorado Springs. We can’t thank them enough for that.”
Dating back several hundred years to Scandinavia, the topping out ceremony marks the placement of the final piece of structural steel and is intended to celebrate the good fortune of the project.
