HOUSTON, TX McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. celebrated an important milestone on Wednesday - the topping out of what will be Houston, Texas,' new Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. The construction company broke ground on the new home of the prestigious school in February 2016, and it is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2018.                      

To celebrate the occasion, more than 300 people gathered on the fourth level of the new building structure to watch crews hoist an evergreen tree atop the structure, which signifies the highest point of the building has been reached.  

Located downtown in close proximity to Houston's renowned Theatre District, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is designed to accommodate 750 students specializing in the arts disciplines, including theatre, writing, music, visual arts and dance. The five-story, 168,000-square-foot building will feature a dramatic front entrance with double-high glass windows and a wide stairwell, 800-seat main theater with a balcony, dance and music studios, 175-seat recital hall, 200-seat mini-theatre, 300-seat black box theater, rehearsal rooms, modern outdoor dining area, two levels of underground parking and an outdoor roof terrace. 

"McCarthy has a long-standing history of building complex, architecturally significant projects in the performing and visual arts industry, and we are very pleased to be a part of this landmark project for HISD," said McCarthy Houston Division President Jim Stevenson. "We are excited that the education of generations of young artists will be shaped by this building and the work so many skilled and talented people put into it."