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TOPPING OUT: USC’s New School of Medicine at the Health Sciences Campus on BullStreet
Columbia, SC (December , 2025) –– University of South Carolina has reached a major milestone with the “topping out” of USC’s new School of Medicine at its Health Sciences Campus in Columbia’s BullStreet District.
In construction, a topping out marks the placement of a building’s final structural steel beam. The accompanying ceremony is a time-honored milestone, recognizing the project’s momentum and honoring the dedication and craftsmanship of the construction and design teams. USC students, staff, and project team members had the opportunity to sign two beams, both of which will be permanently installed and displayed in the building, allowing the signatures to remain as a lasting tribute to everyone who helped bring the project to this milestone.
The $300 million, 330,000-square-foot project represents a public-private partnership between USC and Gilbane, which is leading the planning, design, development, and construction of the project.
Upon completion, the new facility will blur the boundaries between interdisciplinary research and medical education, offering state-of-the-art classrooms, research labs, medical simulation spaces, health-sciences library, and collaborative indoor and outdoor learning and event spaces.
Led by Gilbane Development, the team is on schedule to open in August 2027. BOUDREAUX in collaboration with SLAM Collaborative are the architects on the project and other team members include: construction manager Cumming, construction manager partner Brownstone Construction Group, and development consultant Restoration 52.
“Gilbane is known as a leader in constructing cutting-edge science and research facilities, and this new School of Medicine building showcases that expertise,” said Brian Steed, Vice President and South Carolina Business Leader, Gilbane Building. “We’re proud to support USC’s mission and the future of healthcare education in South Carolina. Thank you to our project and trade partners for their collaboration and to the skilled craft for their work in realizing this exciting milestone.”
“We are proud to partner with the University of South Carolina in delivering their new School of Medicine, a significant investment by USC in innovative research and medical education, and the first building on its new Health Sciences Campus” said John Keegan, senior vice president at Gilbane Development. “Though public-private partnerships such as this, Gilbane is helping to transform university campuses across the country, developing and building everything from academic and research spaces to student housing to auxiliary facilities.”
“For inspiration, the USC School of Medicine Building at the Health Sciences Campus looks back to the legacy of thoughtfully conceived architecture and outdoor spaces on the main campus while simultaneously looking forward to establishing an ecosystem for sustaining state-of-the-art health sciences education and research,” said University Architect Derek Gruner. “Education and interdisciplinary research will be combined under one roof so that each will engage with and contribute to the other through extraordinary classrooms, well-equipped simulation spaces, wet and dry labs, numerous study environments, and dramatic public spaces.”
The realization of the new Health Sciences Campus is one of the key goals of USC Next, a 10-year master plan of proposed improvements and capital projects designed to meet the needs of USC Columbia students, faculty, and staff through 2034. The campus will seamlessly integrate with the broader BullStreet District, contributing to its vibrant, mixed-use community.
Construction began in February 2025.
