City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, several Bronx politicians, and CUNY officials gathered at Lehman College on Oct. 28 to celebrate the placing of the last beam of steel on the college’s new science facility.

The $70 million, 69,000-square-foot building has been under construction since 2008, and is scheduled for completion in 2012.

“In the 21st century, in order to be strong as a country, we have to move forward, and in order to move forward we have to prepare science minds of the future,” said Dr. Mary Papazian, Lehman College’s senior vice-president.

“One of our goals is to get more students into the science major and to increase the understanding of science,” said Dr. Ricardo R. Fernández, the college’s president.

The building has many “green” characteristics and is expected to be the first CUNY building to be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. It will house the biology and chemistry departments, and features include state-of-the-art laboratories, classrooms, a conference center, and office space.

Funds for the project have been provided by the New York State Dormitory Authority and the City Council. The building is just the first step in a three-phase effort to create a science campus on Lehman’s grounds. The second phase will involve the construction of an even larger science building. The third phase will see Lehman’s Gillette Hall renovated.

“Lehman College looks different from when I graduated and that is a good thing,” said Council member and Lehman alum, Maria del Carmen Arroyo.