Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

  • By Matt Jones
  • 07/09/26

Key Takeaways

  • Virginia Tech celebrated the topping out of the 285,500-square-foot Mitchell Hall, a five-story engineering facility scheduled for completion in winter 2028 that will become the largest College of Engineering building on campus.
  • The new building will house classrooms, instructional labs, and research spaces for multiple engineering disciplines while preserving an existing facility that contains one of the nation's largest university-owned wind tunnels.
  • Built by Skanska, the project has reached the topping-out milestone after using more than 18,000 cubic yards of concrete, 2,600 tons of reinforcing steel, and approximately 300,000 work hours, continuing the firm's longstanding partnership with Virginia Tech.

 

Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

The five-story building will feature academic classrooms and instruction labs, as well as research lab space for the “aerospace and ocean engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, and engineering education programs,” according to the news release. The facility is being built around an existing one that contains one of the largest university-owned wind tunnels in the U.S., preserving the old building within the new layout.

“Every person on this team has brought remarkable skill and dedication to Mitchell Hall, and that commitment shows in what we've built so far,” said Mark Balling, the Skanska Mid-Atlantic region’s executive vice president and general manager. "We’re honored to deliver another facility for Virginia Tech that represents a bold step forward not just for today's students and faculty, but for the many generations that follow.”

Construction stats include 18,321 cubic yards of concrete, 2,600 tons of reinforcing steel, and about 300,000 work hours (162,000 of those from the concrete subcontractor), according to the news release.

The university has previously partnered with Skanska on the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Science Laboratory Building, completed in 2025, and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Addition in Roanoke, completed in 2020.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • How Proactive Maintenance Can Transform Athletic Facilities into Strategic Assets for College Sports

    College athletics is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. With NIL reshaping financial models and competitive expectations, athletic departments across the country are being asked to do more than ever with increasingly constrained resources.

  • Compton High School

    Compton High School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Compton High School has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • Deferred Maintenance Issues Growing at Universities, Gordian Reports

    U.S. colleges and universities are falling increasingly behind on facilities maintenance and repair, according to Gordian’s 13th annual State of Facilities in Higher Education report. The deferred capital renewal burden has reached $156 per gross square foot, an 8% increase over the previous year.