The Hitt Hall building will host the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, which is expected to be finished in spring of 2024.

“This building is a tribute to what is possible when academia and industry collaborate to address the workforce needs of the 21st century, supported by generous friends and alumni,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said.

“Hitt Hall will be an appropriate home for a nationally ranked and respected school that is developing the leaders and innovators who will define the industry’s future,” Sands added.

Virginia Tech started programs to educate on construction in the 1940’s. The program sees collaboration between the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Engineering.

“It’s a way of working that has been in place for a very long time. Myers-Lawson is a shining example of what higher education can be when we connect students, faculty, and industry partners in the shared effort to build talent,” said Interim College of Architecture and Urban Studies Dean Rosemary Blieszner.

Construction of the new facility will be managed by W.M. Jordan Co. and will serve “thousands of students” each day, according to the university's press release.

The Board of Visitors approved funding for the project in August of last year. The building is named after a lead gift from the Hitt family, founded HITT Contracting, one of the largest construction firms in the United States. Brett Hitt, co-chairman of HITT’s board of directors, said “we appreciate Virginia Tech’s leading role preparing today’s students to become tomorrow’s decision-makers in our industry."

Hitt Contracting CEO Kim Roy is a graduate from Virginia Tech.

Along with Brett Hitt, other leaders from large construction companies who graduated from Virginia Tech were present at the groundbreaking event, including John R. Lawson II from W.M. Jordan Company, A. Ross Myers of Allan Myers, Inc., and Preston White of Century Concrete, who founded his company just three years after graduating from the university. He’s also a member of the Board of Visitors for Virginia Tech.

The groundbreaking and speeches before the ceremony were live-streamed by Virginia Tech.

“I appreciate how well Virginia Tech prepared me to succeed in industry, and it does an even better job today,” White said. “Preparing the talent base that companies like mine are in need of is the life blood of the future — and this new building and expansion of the Myers-Lawson School of Construction will ensure a bright future for both the construction industry and Virginia Tech.”