Members of the San Diego State community celebrated the halfway point of the renovation for Nasatir and Storm halls with a topping out ceremony for the project on Friday.

Topping out generally represents a milestone in construction projects. This particular ceremony signified completed construction of the project’s steel frame by placing the final beam.

As in a similar ceremony for the Aztec Student Union, a group of people signed the final beam before it was hoisted atop the renovation site. Among those who signed were Charles and Chinyeh Hostler, whose most recent contribution to SDSU was a $3 million donation to the College of Arts and Letters in December.

As a token of appreciation for the couple’s support of SDSU, the west building of Storm Hall will be named after Charles Hostler. The original buildings’ names come from SDSU professor emeriti Abraham Nasatir and Alvena Storm, both of whom joined the SDSU faculty in the 1920s.

With the final beam placed, efforts for the next few months will include placing drywall, installing windows and doors and constructing the roofing. According to SDSU NewsCenter, now that the majority of framing and electrical work is finished, the next major step for the project will be pouring concrete floors in the lecture halls.

Energy-saving windows and a special coating on the exterior of the buildings mean the new Nasatir and Storm halls will be more sustainable than their predecessors. Additionally, the completed buildings will be wheelchair accessible, with elevators, ramps and door operators.

Renovation plans also include two additional lecture halls, one with 275 seats and the other with 475.

The $73 million project, which is mostly state-funded, began in June and is scheduled for completion in August 2014.