Dark-brown, spongy soil and expanses of white crushed stone make for uneven footing surrounding Crimson Crossing, the high-profile, six-story residence hall well under construction on the Florida Institute of Technology’s Melbourne campus.
“I apologize for the rough terrain,” said Greg Campbell, senior superintendent with CBG Building Co., leading a small group of visitors across thick, shoe-staining dirt toward the center wing of the E-shaped structure.
Crimson Crossing, a 556-bed student housing complex, should open by August in time for fall semester at the northeast corner of Babcock Street and University Boulevard. Typical apartment-style arrangements will be four-bedroom suites equipped with two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living-dining area.
Looking ahead, plans call for construction of a future elevated pedestrian bridge spanning busy Babcock Street. This walkway will lead from the new 212,237-square-foot building to campus academic buildings. The Florida Tech board of trustees recommended spending up to $5.9 million on that project.
On Wednesday, Dec. 18, Florida Tech officials invited guests to the bustling Crimson Crossing construction site for a “topping-out” ceremony. This tradition marks when crews place the last piece of structural steel atop a building, according to the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Event attendees used colorful markers to write autographs and inspirational messages on a pair of metal bandings. Speakers delivered remarks from a podium atop an earthen slope near a construction trailer, alongside pallets stacked with chrome structural studs and yellow buckets of acrylic wall finish.
“It’s easy to see how a modern residential facility at the campus entrance along a major thoroughfare strengthens our identity as a contemporary hub for learning and innovation,” Vice President for Student Affairs David McMahan told the crowd, amid thumping sounds from heavy equipment and metallic grinding noises.
McMahan said some of Florida Tech’s aging student-housing stock dates back more than 70 years. Crimson Crossing is projected to boost the campus housing supply, which consists of 2,048 beds, by 27%.
President John Nicklow commended the construction workers who are attending to “every beam, every bolt, every weld” of Crimson Crossing. As he spoke, workers wearing bright orange and yellow shirts applied stucco to upper floors across a rectangular scaffolding network on the building’s north-facing exterior wall.
Campbell previously oversaw his company’s construction of Lark on 42nd, a six-story, 512-bed student-housing complex at the University of South Florida. He led a handful of reporters and photographers on a brief Crimson Crossing ground-floor tour.
“We just started hanging drywall (about) a week ago,” Campbell said.
Inside future four-bedroom suites near the east wing, pink insulation fills voids between metal-skeleton walls. Electrical-switch boxes and snakes of wiring await drywall installation, and boxes packed with building materials sit arranged alongside ladders and toolboxes.
Campbell said foundation work kicked off in mid-April, framing started in July, and parking-lot asphalt was poured in mid-August. He said crews have installed about ⅔ of the windows, the roof should be complete by the second week of January, and elevator installation should start Jan. 19.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
Support local journalism. Unlock unlimited digital access to floridatoday.com. Click here and subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Big Florida Tech six-story student housing taking shape on Babcock Street
Reporting by Rick Neale, Florida Today / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
