New Future Tech Building achieves ‘topping off’ milestone at CEI
IDAHO FALLS — The College of Eastern Idaho celebrated the “topping-off” ceremony for its new Future Tech Building on Tuesday afternoon in Idaho Falls.
The gigantic 88,000-square-foot structure will be the future home of the College of Eastern Idaho’s energy, innovation and technology courses.
“This building is not only going to transform our physical campus, it’s going to transform our community,” said CEI President Lori Barber. “Can you imagine how many lives are going to go through this building, and their lives are going to be completely transformed?”
College of Eastern Idaho President Lori Barber smiles by the last beam during the topping-off ceremony on Tuesday. | David Pace, EastIdahoNews.com
The new facility will house “cutting-edge cybersecurity, energy systems, mechatronics, nuclear technology, battery and solar technology programs,” according to a CEI news release.
It is slated to open in summer 2026.
“Yes, it’s a physical structure, but it’s also about building opportunities,” Barber said. “We expect that we will have 1,000 additional students that go through this building yearly.”
The topping-off ceremony was commemorated by securing the final steel beam in the frame of a building.
The building’s superstructure consists of “570 tons of steel that (are) spread out among about 1,100 custom-built individual pieces,” said Cives Steel Company Northwest Division Vice President Ben Merkling. “It took these guys over here over 11,000 bolts to put that iron together.”
The steel frame was assembled by 200 employees who logged about 25,000 man-hours on the project, Merkling said.
Steelworkers raise the final beam into place at the Future Tech Building at College of Eastern Idaho. | David Pace, EastIdahoNews.com
“The trades … they’re not a backup plan. They are the backbone of the United States.”
The topping-off tradition dates back to the early Scandinavian era, said Intermountain Erectors Inc. foreman Michael Farrer.
“They used to put sheaves of grain at the top of their buildings for Odin’s horse, in hopes that Odin would come by and bless their dwellings,” Farrer said, referring to the Norse war god.
As the tradition evolved, an evergreen was placed on top of the final beam as a symbol of “growth and good luck.”
More recently, “in some regions … they raised a flag as they’re erecting the highest point of their structure,” he shared.
Workers welded a steel post for a pole on the final metal beam yesterday and attached an American flag to fly above the building.
Before it was raised, CEI employees, donors, steelworkers and contractors signed the white-painted beam with colorful Sharpies.
Once the ceremony was completed, the beam was lifted up by a crane and secured high on the Future Tech Building’s steel superstructure by two professionals.
The commemorative beam is caught by a steelworker on top of the Future Tech Building at College of Eastern Idaho. | David Pace, EastIdahoNews.com
Andrew Stewart, project manager for general contractor Andersen Construction, congratulated his team and all of the contractors for their hard work and efforts — especially in Idaho’s freezing winter temperatures.
“This is not built from people outside of this community,” Stewart said to a crowd of dozens of tradesmen and -women. “The blue-collar community in eastern Idaho is truly exceptional. Eastern Idaho does not need to look beyond its own backyard to find skilled, professional and well-equipped tradespeople capable of building world-class buildings.”
He thanked the “College of Eastern Idaho, its Board of Trustees, the state of Idaho, the Division of Public Works and architectural firm Lombard Conrad” who designed the Future Tech Building.
“You all were talking about this as a topping out. We think of this as a foundation,” said CEI Board of Trustees Chairman Park Price. “This is how we’re going to build the next level of CEI, and without this building, we couldn’t get it done.”
Six of the 200 local employees who have constructed the Future Tech building so far. | Courtesy College of Eastern Idaho
Barber also congratulated the teams of 200 workers who completed the project.
“The trades, we say at CEI — because we train a lot of people who will go into the jobs that you guys are doing here — they’re not a backup plan,” she said. “They are the backbone of the United States.”
Steelworkers release the final beam after securing it during the topping off ceremony on Tuesday at College of Eastern Idaho. | David Pace, EastIdahoNews.com