TUCSON, AZ Joint venture partners Sundt Construction and DPR Construction recently gathered with Banner-University Medical Center Tucson employees and Tucson, Arizona, community members to celebrate the topping out of a new hospital tower.

The topping out signifies that the uppermost structural framing of a new building is ready to be set and that the structure has reached its maximum height. Attendees signed the beam and Sundt|DPR, a joint venture led the placement of the final beam on the new tower.

Designed by Shepley Bulfinch, the nine-story tower features a new main entry for the hospital, cafeteria and support departments on the first floor; diagnostic imaging, diagnostic cardiology, cardiac cath labs and interventional radiology on the second floor; operating rooms and patient prep and recovery space on the third floor and patient rooms in floors five through nine.

The team broke ground on the project in May 2016, and the tower is scheduled to open in spring 2019. This is the seventh JV partnership for Sundt and DPR Construction. The joint venture primarily focuses on life-science and healthcare-related projects.