Topping out ceremony set for CRST Center

The general contractor for the 11-story CRST Center in downtown Cedar Rapids will host a topping out ceremony Monday afternoon.

Ryan Companies has invited representatives of CRST International, OPN Architects, Bankers Trust, RSM International and Holmes Murphy as well as members of the construction team and site workers to sign the last structural steel beam at 12:30 p.m. before it is lifted and bolted in place at 1 p.m.

The signatures will be visible for the life of the building. The beam, which also will include an evergreen tree and an American flag, will have a GoPro-style camera attached to show what it looks like from the vantage point of the beam.

The $37 million, 112,000-square-foot office tower on the downtown riverfront includes balconies on the top five floors that capture the view of the Cedar River. The building's location also provides exposure from Interstate 380.

Eight floors of the structure will be used for office space and three floors will be designated for parking. CRST International's corporate headquarters will occupy two floors of the building.

Other tenants will include Bankers Trust, RSM International and Holmes Murphy.

OPN Architects is designing the building. Ryan Companies began construction in September 2014 and completion is planned for the summer of 2016.

The foundation wall of the CRST tower is one-half inch from the city's 12-foot-tall concrete flood wall. The building's columns under the ground tie in to the concrete footing of the city flood wall to provide additional support for the office tower via building pilings under the flood wall footing.

The flood wall will run along the river the length of the 200 block of First Street SE. The Army Corps of Engineers worked closely with the city and Ryan Companies to make sure that the flood wall at the CRST Center site qualifies to be incorporated into the Corps' overall flood control project on the east side of the river.

Rick Smith of The Gazette contributed to this story.