Gazing eyes in Penn Square turned upward Wednesday afternoon as a single steel beam — painted white — was hoisted into place atop the former Watt & Shand building.

In a topping-off ceremony that drew close to 200 business leaders, politicians and project supporters, the last piece of structural steel for the Lancaster County Convention Center and Marriott Lancaster at Penn Square hotel was lifted by crane, ready to be cut and welded into its final spot.

State Sen. Gibson Armstrong, an early supporter of the $170 million project, said it has faced many hurdles since its conception more than a decade ago, but he said the center could be the key to economic resurgence in Lancaster, spurring development and improvements in the city.

"This is going to continue to revitalize Lancaster city," Armstrong said, "and it's going to take Lancaster County to the next level of tourism."

Dignitaries ranging from S. Dale High, chairman of High Industries Inc., to former Lancaster Mayor Charlie Smithgall took turns with Sharpie pens, signing their names on the beam, which will be incorporated into the support structure of the Watt & Shand façade.

State Rep. Mike Sturla said Lancaster has had a tendency to undersell itself. He said the city is more of a metropolitan area now that is easily accessible from anywhere on the East Coast.

Lancaster should look at itself as a city more along the lines of Charleston, S.C., or Annapolis, Md., instead of Johnstown or Altoona, Sturla said. The convention center project is an example of the city entering a new phase of economic growth, he said.

"Once people start walking through this facility, I don't see how anyone will be a detractor of this facility at that point in time," he said.

Jack Garner, executive director of Pennsylvania League of Cities & Municipalities, was at the ceremony to sign a contract reserving the convention center for the group's 110th annual convention in June. Garner said the convention will attract nearly 500 mayors and elected officials from across the state.

Tom Smithgall, vice president of High Associates, the project's master developer, said the ceremony was a good time to reflect on the progress that has been made and what still needs to be done.

Smithgall, who has been working on the project since 1998, said the next big step is to get the building completely enclosed before winter so workers can install the heating and ventilation systems.

The convention center is on schedule to open in spring 2009, Smithgall said, with about 300 workers per day currently active on the site.

"It just shows you that despite all the challenges we've had here, all of these people have come together at this particular moment," he said.

The hotel and convention center are being built by Penn Square Partners, which consists of general partners Penn Square General Corp., a High Industries affiliate, and Penn Square Ltd. LLC, an affiliate of Lancaster Newspapers Inc., publisher of the Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster New Era and Sunday News.

E-mail: myoder@lnpnews.com