Construction of the University of South Carolina’s new medical school has reached a significant milestone, marking steady progress toward its anticipated August 2027 opening in Columbia’s BullStreet District.
The project team recently celebrated a “topping out” ceremony, commemorating the placement of the building’s final structural steel beam. Gilbane, the construction and development firm overseeing the work, partnered with USC to host the event. Students, university staff and project partners signed two beams that will be permanently installed and displayed inside the finished medical school.
The $300 million, 330,000-square-foot facility broke ground in February and represents a cornerstone of USC’s emerging Health Sciences Campus. The campus is being developed within the BullStreet corridor, a fast-growing area that already includes Segra Park, new restaurants, and expanding commercial activity.
The medical school is designed to integrate education, research and public engagement within a single facility.
“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,” USC university architect David Gruner said in a release about the “topping out.”
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University officials view the project as a major step in expanding USC’s academic and research footprint while supporting workforce development and health care innovation in South Carolina. The facility will include advanced instructional spaces, laboratories and collaborative environments aimed at preparing future physicians and researchers.
The new medical school is a key element of USC Next, the university’s 10-year master plan outlining long-term capital investments and campus improvements. The broader BullStreet redevelopment continues to attract new businesses and amenities, positioning the medical school as a catalyst for further economic and institutional growth in the area.
Project partners include Boudreaux as lead architect in collaboration with Slam Collaborative as design architect. Cumming and Brownstone Construction Group are serving as construction managing partners, with Restoration 52 providing design consulting services.
With the building’s structural frame now complete, construction will move into interior buildout and systems installation as the project advances toward its scheduled 2027 completion.
Originally reported by Chloe Barlow in Post and Courier.
