![\"topping](\"http:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/toppingoff.jpg\" "\\"topping")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A traditional topping-off ceremony was held this morning to mark a milestone in the construction of Brock\u2019s newest research facility, and recognize the workers and contractors who are building the new structure.<\/p>\n
![\"toppingoff2\"](\"http:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/toppingoff2.jpg\" "\\"Jeff")
Jeff Cairns speaks at the topping-off ceremony.<\/p><\/div>\n
More than 60 people gathered for the event, which celebrated the completion of the main structure for the Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Complex<\/a>. The building is scheduled for occupancy in summer 2012.<\/p>\n \u201cAs far back as 700 AD, Scandinavians were reportedly topping off construction of new halls with sheathes of grain that were gifts for the horse of the Norse god, Odin,\u201d said Rudi Kroeker, chair of the university\u2019s Board of Trustees, at the ceremony. \u201cThe deal was that Odin in turn bestowed good luck on the future occupants.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cairns Complex will be a 176,530-square-foot, $111.4-million world-class facility that will provide support for four Canada Research Chairs and several award-winning researchers in biotechnology, green chemistry, plant pathology and health and wellness.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the beginning, we were very excited when we were asked to invest in Brock\u2019s newest development,\u201d said Jeff Cairns at the event. \u201cWe did our due diligence \u2014 and we think that we\u2019ve struck gold.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore than providing a major teaching and research asset for Brock University, the new health and biosciences complex is in fact the doorway to a stronger future. It\u2019s an opportunity that the people of Niagara simply cannot afford to miss out on.\u201d<\/p>\n The project received a Government of Canada investment of $38 million through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program (KIP) and $33.5 million from the Ontario government through the 2009 budget. Other investments include $2 million from the Regional Municipality of Niagara and $37.9 million to be raised by Brock.<\/p>\n During the ceremony, President Jack Lightstone acknowledged those who have been instrumental in making the project a reality thus far \u2014 project managers MHPM; architects ArchitectsAlliance and Payette Associates; construction manager EllisDon; and sub-contractors Res 2000, Salit Steel, Dufferin Concrete and Halsall Associates who were responsible for the structural work.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease join me in acknowledging the men and women who have brought us to this point \u2014 the workers, designers, technicians and specialists who have worked through the seasons, through the weather,\u201d Lightstone said. \u201cAnd through the stubborn bedrock of the Niagara escarpment, which did not give in willingly.”<\/p>\n Jim Bradley, MPP for St. Catharines and Tim Smith, Senior Vice-President, EllisDon, also spoke at the event.<\/p>\n