School of Dentistry celebrates topping-out

June 17, 2010 – As one final bucket of concrete was poured on the roof of the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry's new home in Augusta, hundreds were on hand to celebrate reaching the building's highest point on June 17.

Construction of the five-story facility for the state's only dental school began in October and is slated for completion in June 2011. The $112 million, 268,788-square-foot building will be more than 100,000 square feet larger than the existing building, which opened in 1970 on Laney Walker Boulevard.

BE&K Building Group, the facility's construction team, commemorated the milestone of completing the structure's concrete frame with a topping-out ceremony at the construction site. An evergreen tree was hoisted by crane to the structure's pinnacle to symbolize growth and good luck.

Since breaking ground 35 weeks ago, 13,500 cubic yards of concrete have been poured and 1,000 tons of rebar and 44 miles of cable have been placed. To date, $17 million has been invested into the community and the school, said Anthony Reed, general superintendent at the site.

"We at BE&K are excited to be celebrating the School of Dentistry topping-out milestone on schedule," said senior project manager Brandon Scott. "We are especially proud of our subcontractor partners who have completed eight months of fast-paced construction without any lost-time incidents."

The ceremony honored approximately 130 workers who have completed 127,000 man hours on the project to date.

"These workers are helping build the uture of Georgia dentistry, and we are so very appreciative of their service," School of Dentistry Dean Connie Drisko said. She noted that some days the workers began pouring concrete at 2 a.m. and that dedication kept the project on track.

Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver said the building represents a strategic investment in Augusta's future. "This is a great day for MCG and a great day for the city," he said. "This is part of over $340 million of ongoing projects within a mile radius of downtown Augusta, and that is great for our local economy."

The expanded space of the new facility will allow the school to increase its class size incrementally from 63 to 100 by 2016, and its residency positions from 44 to 72. The increase will make the MCG School of Dentistry among the largest in the nation; only 13 of the country's 58 dental schools have a class size of 100 or more, according to the American Dental Association.

The growth should help alleviate the shortage of dentists in the state, which has 41.4 dentists per 100,000 citizens—considerably fewer than the nationwide ratio of 54.3 per 100,000, according to the American Dental Association. Approximately 80-85 percent of MCG School of Dentistry graduates practice in Georgia.

The facility will house the dental school's nine specialty clinics, two large student clinics, simulation labs, the School of Allied Health Sciences' dental hygiene program, an administration area, an expanded faculty practice and the Center for Esthetic and Implant Dentistry, the school's most recent addition. Patient visits are projected to increase significantly.

Quick Facts

• Design Professional: Lord Aeck Sargent Architecture
• General Contractor: BE&K Building Group
• GSFIC Project Manager: Dore May
• GSFIC Contract Compliance Specialist: Frank Andrews