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A September flood relegated the groundbreaking on USC's new Darla Moore School of Business to a fake shoveling ceremony at the Carolina Coliseum next door. A January drive past the Assembly Street site, however, shows the $106 million project is no farce.
Construction workers have cleared space and fenced off the area between the Coliseum and the Koger Center for the Arts for the 252,000 square-foot, five-level building that University officials say could meet top environmental standards. The building will be the most expensive in USC history and will feature an open-air courtyard and pavilion, a performance hall for the School of Music, a digital library and a stock market ticker board.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, USC President Harris Pastides said he expects the structure to shape the future of the business school and the school's dean, Hildy Teegen, touted it as an important milestone in the school's evolution.
The project is slated for completion in December 2013.