DAHLONEGA – The view from the peak is spectacular according to one construction site worker. “Fifty miles,” said another about the distance a person could see from the new building’s peak – but that would be nothing compared to the impact the 103,000-square feet Convocation Center is expected to have on our area according to University of North Georgia President Dr. Bonita Jacobs.
“This is going to serve our region,” Jacobs said at Tuesday’s “topping out ceremony”, held during the noon hour on the Dahlonega campus of UNG.
“This is the largest facility like this for many miles around. I can imagine job fairs and concerts and speakers, and high school playoff games…and all kinds of community events that go beyond all of our communities in this northeast Georgia region,” Jacobs added.
General Contractor Lee Juneau said the largest room would accommodate 5500 people. He then added that the project had just passed the 50-percent plateau in its construction and should be ready, as planned, in March of 2018.
One job that remains to be completed: naming of the giant facility.
Vice President for University Advancement, Jeff Tarnowski, said, “We’re still actively working to make that happen.”
Tarnowski agreed that a partnership with a strong member of the community, either individual or corporate, who could participate financially and team with UNG to help advance the school’s objectives, was being sought.
The “topping off ceremony” was very low key, as if by design. Without fanfare the giant girder was hoisted overhead by a massive crane and set along the eastern edge of the superstructure.
“1544-feet above sea level”, said one of the engineers observing the installation. “It’s just a small part of a big dream.”
