BALTIMORE (Map, News) - A giant crane pulled the small evergreen tree slowly into the air over Camden Yards Friday morning, and moments later set it down 210 feet above Eutaw Street, marking the highest point of the new Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel and a milestone in the project's construction.

Local officials and project designers, contractors, and workers came together for the “topping out” ceremony, a tradition in the construction industry. Officials said work on the 757-room, 60,000 square foot hotel is on budget, and on schedule for an August 9 opening.

“Each piece of material put into place highlights our city's growing potential,” said city comptroller Joan Pratt. “Projects such as this one…add to our flourishing sense of pride.”

Work paused for about an hour on the local levels of the structure as workers in sticker-covered hard hats and bright, reflective vests listened to comments from city officials including Mayor Sheila Dixon, Hilton executives, and project leaders. More than 70 companies have participated in construction so far, logging 400,000 man-hours.

The hotel is only about halfway done, but Baltimore Development Corporation President M.J. “Jay” Brodie said great progress has been made since the city council, local development officials, and Hilton execs began meetings three years ago on the project.

“It's come a long way from a dream in our minds,” Brodie said. “We lacked a headquarters hotel of a certain size…and a certain location.”

Ted Ratcliff, senior vice-president of Hilton Americas Operations, praised city leadership for their vision and follow-through on the project.

“You see a lot of support…in a lot of cities,” Ratcliff said. “But it's the personal investment…we've seen here in Baltimore that sets it apart.”

Dixon, city council president in Mayor Martin O'Malley's administration at the time of the project's inception, noted the approximately 28 hours of hearings and many more hours of meetings and research that went into the effort. She said similar development projects would follow a path similar to the Hilton's.

“This project is an example of how we'll conduct business going forward,” she said, “and we know we can do it because of what we see [here].”

Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel

By The Numbers, as of Friday

70 companies involved in design and construction

400,000 man-hours spent

90,000 cubic yards of dirt excavated

3,631 tons of rebar installed

59,701 tons of concrete poured

1,027 tons of structural steel placed

acahall@baltimoreexaminer.com