Columbia Memorial Hospital Hits a Major Milestone — Topping Out Ceremony Marks Full Structural Height in Astoria

Columbia Memorial Hospital’s $300 million BuildCMH Expansion Project reached a significant construction milestone this month when contractor Skanska placed the highest steel beam during a topping out ceremony — marking the full height of the structure, with the final beam accompanied by an evergreen and American flag, a traditional symbol of a job completed safely. Skanska’s contract value for the project now totals $227 million, following an additional $153 million contract secured on top of its original $74 million agreement signed in July 2024, with construction underway since September 2024 and a projected completion date of November 2027. The expansion will grow the hospital from 56,000 square feet to 182,000 square feet — more than tripling its footprint — while the facility remains a 25-bed, critical access hospital serving the North Coast and Lower Columbia region. As we reported previously, the project lost a $20 million federal BRIC grant earlier this year that would have funded key disaster-resilience features, but CMH leadership has confirmed work is continuing on schedule, with funding for the project coming from new debt, cash reserves, philanthropy, and grants — notably, as an independent nonprofit hospital, CMH receives zero taxpayer dollars from the community. The topping out is a clear visual sign that, federal funding setback notwithstanding, this remains one of the most significant active construction projects on the entire Oregon coast. RocketReach + 3

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