CMU robotics facility celebrates laying of final beam | The Homepage

Pitt and CMU facilities under construction on Hazelwood Green expected to finish in 2025

By Juliet Martinez, managing editor

Representatives from Carnegie Mellon University, the philanthropic community, and Hazelwood organizations and residents gathered at Mill 19 on July 19 to mark topping off the frame of the Robotics Innovation Center.

Pastor Tim Smith, CEO of Center of Life in Hazelwood, was one of a small number of speakers at the ceremony. He said his father ran the overhead crane at Mill 19 and the one at the Roundhouse. He acknowledged Rev. Michael Murray, chair of the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative, who was present. Mr. Murray’s father worked at Mill 19 as well.

“We have some roots pretty deep in this place,” Mr. Smith said. In order for this moment to happen, some major events had to come first, like the closure of the steel mill that left numerous people without job. It also left a 178-acre brownfield as Greater Hazelwood’s front yard.

The people of Hazelwood “had to stand in the gap and fight off speculators who were looking to capitalize on what they saw as a vulnerable and defenseless community,” Mr. Smith said.

“It’s because of the people who live in this community – who live, work and play in this community – and for the people in this place here right now, that we are able to realize and celebrate this incredible topping off ceremony.”

A crane lifted the white I-beam bearing a small evergreen tree and an American flag into place after the speeches were done. Most of the people present had signed it in permanent marker.

CMU president Farnam Jahanian said the tree harkened back to a Scandinavian tradition intended to appease the tree spirits displaced by a new building.

“While we didn’t displace any trees here to do this, I know that this project, the evergreen tree is a positive symbol representing good fortune for future occupants, continued growth in tandem with the environment, and a safe and successful construction effort, and of course supporting our neighbors at Hazelwood,” he said.

CMU officials have described the research and testing facility as a place that will allow scientists and student researchers to explore the basic principles of robotics and applications that could touch a range of fields, from health care to manufacturing, agriculture to space exploration.

The construction project broke ground on Dec. 15, 2023, and is expected to be completed in spring of 2025. The 150,000-square-foot facility often referred to as the RIC (pronounced “rick”), will be the size of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, according to Mr. Jahanian.

The other major construction project on Hazelwood Green is the University of Pittsburgh’s 185,000-square-foot BioForge. The facility will focus on developing and perfecting manufacturing processes for therapies and cures for diseases that do not have effective treatments yet. Construction began late last year and is expected to end in 2025.