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Media representatives are invited to a short “topping off” ceremony to celebrate the completion of the steel frame of the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s Visitor Education Center this week.

Friday (June 6)
Noon
N.C. Botanical Garden Visitor Education Center construction site
Laurel Hill Road Extension in Chapel Hill
Access via Old Mason Farm Road on south side of Fordham Boulevard

Construction of the 29,656-square-foot Visitor Education Center at the N.C. Botanical Garden began last November. The project is expected to be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum building on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and possibly the first in the state. It consists of three major sections connected by covered breezeways. All systems and materials have been designed to minimize environmental impact and support human health.

A topping off ceremony celebrates the milestone between the start of construction and the opening of the building when the frame has completely outlined the building-to-come. It celebrates the vision, teamwork and labor that have gone into the building and symbolizes good luck for the future of the building and its inhabitants. The topping off ceremony will involve hoisting a living potted Longleaf Pine tree to the tallest point on the building. That tree eventually will be planted in the landscaped area surrounding the building, which is expected to open in spring of 2009.

Web site:
http://ncbg.unc.edu/

N.C. Botanical Garden contact: Peter White, (919) 962-6939, pswhite@unc.edu
News Services contact:  Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, susan_houston@unc.edu

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