Virginia Tech tops out 285,500-square-foot engineering building
Key Highlights
- Mitchell Hall will be the largest facility in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, adding over 70% more space on the same site.
- The building will house classrooms, laboratories, and research spaces for multiple engineering disciplines, including aerospace, chemical, and mechanical engineering.
- Construction has involved extensive concrete and steel work, with over 300,000 work hours contributed so far.
- The project preserves a historic wind tunnel, integrating it within the new structure to support research activities.
- Completion is targeted for winter 2028, reflecting Virginia Tech’s commitment to expanding its engineering and research capabilities.
Construction has reached a milestone on Mitchell Hall, a 285,500-square-foot academic and research facility at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Skanska recently celebrated the topping out of the five-story building, which will become the largest facility in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. The project will add more than 70% more gross square footage on the same site, according to Skanska.
The building will include classrooms, instructional laboratories, and research lab space for several College of Engineering programs, including aerospace and ocean engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, and engineering education. The project also is designed to improve campus accessibility by adding an ADA-compliant pedestrian pathway.
The facility is being built around one of the largest university-owned wind tunnels in the United States, preserving the existing structure within the new building footprint.
Construction work completed so far has included 18,321 cubic yards of concrete, 2,600 tons of reinforcing steel, and about 300,000 work hours.
“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, executive vice president and general manager for Skanska’s Mid-Atlantic region.
To mark the topping out, Norris Mitchell, the building’s namesake, and his wife, Wendy, joined representatives from Virginia Tech, Skanska, and trade partners to raise a ceremonial concrete bucket atop the building.
Skanska previously completed Virginia Tech’s Undergraduate Science Laboratory Building in 2025 and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Addition in Roanoke in 2020. Mitchell Hall is expected to be completed in winter 2028.
Why this matters
Mitchell Hall reflects how universities are investing in specialized academic and research facilities to support engineering education, interdisciplinary collaboration, accessibility, and long-term enrollment demand. The project also illustrates the complexity of higher education construction, including building around existing research infrastructure while expanding capacity on a constrained campus site.